Living With Vampires
by velja
Summary: AU. Elena moves in with the Salvatores. But when Stefan leaves town to deal with family business, things change. Enter a date and a midnight swim and you get Delena fun. But what happens when Stefan comes back with kids as company? ON HIATUS NOW, SORRY.
1. Moving In

**Living With Vampires**

by velja

**Pairing:** Damon/Elena, minor canon Stefan/Elena

**Genre:** Humor

**Rating:** PG-13 (for now)

**Disclaimer:** The characters still belong to L.J. Smith and the CW, I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**Setting: **This starts after 1x16 'There Goes The Neighborhood' and then I guess it will go AU.

**Overall Summary: **Elena is moving in with the Salvatore brothers at the boarding house. Random glimpses at her life with two vampires, one of them hell-bent on seducing her. The really bad part: it's not her boyfriend doing the seducing but Damon. And even worse: it's working!

**Summary for this part:** Elena is moving in with the Salvatores but finding the right room may prove more difficult than she'd thought possible. And it may come at a high prize.

_**Author's note:**__ This started out as a funny one-shot. It still is, but now I have several ideas for more swimming around in my head and I'll try to make it a series. But for now it's a one-shot. Oh, and sorry if a part of this somehow reads like it belongs into an 'interior decorating magazine'. I got carried away a bit, interior design has always been a hobby of mine.  
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**Moving In**

The door wasn't locked, it never was, and so Elena entered the Salvatore boarding house without trouble. She didn't bother calling out for Stefan, she knew he wasn't home right now. He'd told her this morning over the phone that he had some errands to run but would be back this afternoon.

The heavy carpet swallowed her steps as Elena made her way further into the house.

"What's this, Elena? Are you going on a vacation?"

The sudden voice from directly behind shouldn't have startled Elena, she should by now have gotten used to Damon appearing out of nowhere with his super-human speed. Still, for a second Elena's heart had skipped a beat hearing him so close. When she finally managed to get it back under control she turned around and came face to face with Damon's trademark smirk.

"Vacation?" Elena frowned, not sure what he meant.

Damon briefly cocked his head towards the door, his eyes never leaving hers though, and Elena suddenly understood. She threw a glance at her suitcase in the doorway and then turned back to Damon.

"Oh, Stefan didn't tell you?" She took a step back and pulled a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

The smirk on Damon's face never faltered. "Tell me what? That you two lovebirds finally tied the knots of _mariage_ and you're moving in?"

Elena couldn't help but smile at Damon's unique way of trying to get a rise out of her. He'd pronounced the word marriage in the French way, over-emphasizing the last syllable, and from his lips it sounded like an annoyance or a curse.

Which to him it probably was.

"Yes," Elena smirked back and crossed her arms in front of her, ready for whatever taunting insult Damon would counter.

But the single word from her had apparently managed to stun even Damon. The smug smile fell from his face and for a second there Elena thought she saw something like true surprise flicker through his clear blue eyes.

"What? That's a joke, right?"

"No," Elena grinned back triumphantly. "Okay," she shrugged then, "the marriage thing was but the rest… yep, I'm moving in."

Damon's self-assured smirk was back in place again when he leaned close. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

Elena didn't budge, didn't pull back to expand the distance between their faces. She simply stared into Damon's eyes and after what seemed to her like a lifetime Damon eventually tore his eyes away. He brushed past her and languidly sauntered over to where she'd left the heavy suitcase in the doorway.

For one silly second Elena thought he would pick it up and carry it inside for her but Damon stopped just short of it and eyed the travel case as if it were a dangerous animal about to bite him.

Elena shook her head and suited up.

"What's the matter, Damon?" Elena reached around and lifted the suitcase off the ground. "Afraid something might jump out of it?"

Damon didn't bother with an answer but simply watched her move the obviously heavy thing to the foot of the staircase. Then, with a resigning roll of eyes, he went after her and took the suitcase from Elena's hands.

Elena followed him upstairs, a small smile playing around her lips. It seemed that chivalry wasn't as dead as she'd thought. Some basic manners obviously were too deeply ingrained for even 145 years of badass vampirism to have erased them.

Elena had to admit that she was surprised. But not by seeing the remains of Damon's gentlemanly upbringing, no… she was surprised by the fact that she wasn't surprised at all. Deep down she'd always known that there had to be some good in him still. Even if it was just 'carrying her suitcase for her'… something good had always remained.

Elena reached the first floor and noticed Damon was waiting for her at the foot of the small stairway that led up to Stefan's room.

"I don't suppose I have to ask where exactly you want me to put this?" Damon's foot was hovering above the first step when Elena's reply let him freeze in mid-air.

"Wait! Actually…" Elena let her gaze wander around the long hallway with at least seven closed doors staring back at her. "I hadn't really thought… ugh, I mean, Stefan and I haven't really talked this through yet."

Damon set the suitcase down and slowly walked over to her. His eyes gleamed joyfully in the low light. "So my dear brother asks you to move in and you just say yes, not even sure if you want to share a room with him?" He threw her a wicked grin. "Huh, do I smell trouble in paradise already?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Elena replied, determined to set things straight. "And for the record, moving in here was my idea, not Stefan's. In fact, it took something to convince him first."

Now Damon really looked surprised. He lifted an eyebrow and silently waited for Elena to go on.

"Stefan told me about the attack, Damon. Last night, on you two here. He told me about the vampires that escaped the tomb and that now are out there, free to roam town like they please, thanks to you!"

"Hey," Damon shrugged carelessly. "It wasn't me who forgot to properly close the door. If the witches hadn't screwed up their part…"

"Yes, and if you hadn't been so hell-bent on opening the tomb in the first place, and, may I add, all for nothing since your Katherine wasn't even in there…"

Elena noticed Damon's eyes light up dangerously at mentioning Katherine and she let out a resigned sigh. "Look, Damon. We could go on blaming each other for this mess forever but, what's done is done and… well, we have to figure out a way to deal with it, together."

Damon's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And how exactly do you think moving in here is gonna help us any?"

Elena's arms crossed in front of her body again and she waited a second, sure that Damon would figure it out himself. When he didn't she explained with another sigh: "Damon, I'm human. And I'm moving in here. Making this house my home, at least for now, where I live and sleep. Vampires will need an invitation…" she broke off when she saw realization cross his face. Hah, finally he got it.

"You're moving in here to protect us from the big bad vampires trying to kill us?" Damon's voice was full of amusement though inwardly he was stunned by the sheer genius of her plan. Not that he'd ever admit that, mind you!

But, damn, it was brilliant in its simplicity.

The vampires that had escaped the tomb had never been invited here. And although the house had, for several years in the past, been kind of a public place, being a boarding house and all that, nowadays it served its purpose as a family residence only. And by the way, as long as Zach had lived here it had worked. So why shouldn't it with Elena?

It should, plain and simple. Why hadn't he thought of that before he'd killed Zach?

Determined not to show Elena that he was actually impressed Damon threw her his most devilish smirk. "Aww, that is so sweet of you, Elena! Sweet and… completely unnecessary." His smirk quickly turned into a menacing expression. "I'm quite capable of handling a bunch of half-starved vampires myself, you know?"

"Says the one who just got his eyes poked out by one of them!" Elena shot back unimpressed.

"Stefan told you?"

"He did," Elena nodded once. "Too bad you heal so quickly. I would have loved to see you fumbling around blind for a while."

"Ha ha," Damon smirked back. "Well, what can I say? One of many useful perks the proper diet brings with. Gotta have some advantage not crawling by on animal blood."

"One up among many, many downs I'd say," Elena replied with a scrunched up face. "And it didn't stop that vampire bitch from getting the upper hand over you, so… what's the point?"

Damon didn't like being reminded of his rather humiliating run-in with Pearl and so he quickly changed the subject. "So, Elena. If you don't wanna share with Stefan, and I'm not blaming you since, you know, he's a terrible roommate and famous for hogging the covers…"

Damon winked at her and turned around to open Elena's view to the many doors going off from the halls. "Which room would please the heroine of the day to choose as her quarters?"

With a soft laugh at Damon's antics Elena eyed the doors before she took a few hesitant steps towards the first one on the left.

"Ugh, no," Damon appeared next to her and stopped her hand on the handle. "Not this one."

"Why not?" Elena wanted to know.

"It was Zach's, so…" Damon shrugged. Elena stepped back quickly. The room had probably not been entered since… She frowned up to Damon.

"Why did you kill him?"

"He tried to kill me," Damon's voice was as dispassionate and indifferent as if he were talking about the weather. "Or, well… he helped Stefan. He grew vervain in the basement. Without telling me. And I don't like to be kept in the dark."

"But he was family," Elena walked up to the next door and looked back over her shoulder. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Family's overrated. But speaking of…" Damon sauntered up to her. "What does your aunt think about you moving in with your boyfriend and his ridiculously hot eligible bachelor brother?"

The last part had been delivered complete with air-quotes and Elena had to smile against her will. As much as it pained her to admit it, Damon could be fun and charming when he wanted to be. But she wouldn't let herself forget what he was, what he'd done… turning her birth-mother into a vampire… she was determined to stay angry at him for quite a while. Even if she'd come to understand that she couldn't really blame Damon when it had been Isobel's decision to leave her, long before Damon had ever entered the picture.

Honestly, deep down, Elena knew that it wasn't Damon she was angry with. It was Isobel.

Still, it wouldn't do to let Damon know that, yet. So Elena threw him a fierce glance and shrugged. "I told Jenna Stefan was sick and needed me to take care of him since you're obviously not capable of doing it properly. It wasn't all that hard to convince her of that."

"Really?" Damon smirked back, not offended at all. "And here I'd thought I'd rather impressed her with my cooking skills, which are fantastic by the way."

"True," Elena admitted freely. "Which is why I expect you to cook a delicious dinner tonight."

"Dinner, huh?" Damon closed the distance between them and whispered into Elena's ear: "Should I cool the champagne and light the candles for us as well?"

Elena didn't acknowledge the shiver that ran down her spine at hearing his seductive voice. "Why not? And set the table for three because," she pulled her head back to look into Damon's eyes "tonight you and me and Stefan are gonna celebrate our new living-arrangements."

"Which we still haven't figured out yet," Damon wasn't gonna show his disappointment to her. He moved in between the small space that separated Elena from the door and blocked her entering. "This room's not gonna be yours either."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a storeroom." Damon quickly opened the door to reveal a dim room full of boxes and sheet-covered furniture. He closed the door again and watched Elena walk towards the opposite door. When she cast a questioning glance back he grinned.

"Ugh-ugh," Damon shook his head. "That's a bathroom."

"What about the next?"

"Another storeroom."

Elena let out a sigh. "And the next?"

"It doesn't have heat," Damon smirked. "And no curtains on the windows."

"That one there?" She was slowly getting fed up with this. "Or what about the one at the very end?"

"No windows at all."

"What?" Elena shot him a frown and then, sure that Damon was messing with her, rushed down the halls towards the last door on the left. Damon appeared out of thin air in front of the door and she smacked against his chest.

"Damon, nobody would built a room without windows! And besides, we're at the gable side of the house and I've seen the balcony from outside. It has to belong to this room!" She tried to squeeze past him. "Let me see it!"

"No," Damon didn't give up his spot right in front of the heavy wooden door but stood there, both arms crossed over his chest.

"Fine," Elena huffed eventually and stepped back. "I get it. You don't want me here at all because you can't admit that you might actually need my help for once. Whatever. But even if you don't want my help, I'm not going anywhere, Damon. I'm still gonna stay to make sure Stefan won't get hurt again. So, if you won't let me have a room down here I guess I'll just have to move in with Stefan after all."

Elena turned on her heels and started marching off to where her suitcase stood at the foot of the stairs.

Damon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Elena, wait!" he called after her but when she simply walked on he used his vampire-speed to block her path once again.

"You are truly the most annoying and irritating girl I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. And yes," he lowered his head to capture Elena's eyes, "I admit that your idea of moving in here is brilliant and I could bite myself for not thinking of it myself. So, I admit that I'd appreciate your help. You can move in. And since I'm the only legal adult here and I have to see to it that you and Stefan behave yourselves, you're not gonna share a room with him. So if you absolutely insist on taking that room over there… well, go to it. I'm not gonna stop you."

Despite the mocking and slightly exasperated tone in Damon's voice Elena could see the obvious genuineness of his statement in his eyes. He really meant that.

Without a word in reply Elena turned back and quickly made her way up to the heavy wooden door. She was really curious now as to what she'd find behind the door that Damon had so obviously not wanted her to enter.

The handle turned easily and Elena stepped over the threshold into…

"Wow," she gasped and her mouth hung open in stunned awe. It was the most spacious bedroom she'd ever seen, and certainly the most beautiful one as well.

The first half of it was nearly rectangular, perhaps three yards long and wide, and paneled in dark wood (but happy dark, not gloomy dark like Stefan's room).

But then the room opened up further and it seemed to simply be bathed in light. Twice as big as the first part and curved into an enormous oriel it didn't hold any dark paneled wood at all. Its friendly cream-colored walls reached barely up to Elena's hips before window after window filled the space to the high white ceiling.

Sunshine flooded in from all sides and danced over the night-blue bed-covers on the gigantic bed that occupied the left side of the room. Sparkling dots fluttered to and fro, making the silky material glimmer and shine.

Elena had to avert her face when the bright spots began to hurt her eyes. All this light was nearly too much. She turned around again and started to examine other parts of the room.

The floor was covered by the most plush carpet Elena had ever walked on, even with her shoes on it felt like she was walking on clouds; fluffy, dark brown clouds that begged you to lie down and just enjoy the feeling.

Two doors on the left separated the 'radiant bed-part' from the first half of the room. One obviously led to a walk-in closet and the other one, half-closed, let Elena get a glimpse at midnight-blue tiles and a white porcelain sink. The en-suit bathroom, obviously.

Elena took a deep calming breath, trying not to squeal in delight at the sight of all the beauty around her. This was truly the most magnificent room she'd ever been in.

She took another breath and tried to decipher the smell. The air… there was something in it…

The anterior held several bookcases and sideboards, all in the same polished dark wood, but it didn't give off the stuffed and musty scent of Stefan's overflowing bookshelves. In fact this entire room lacked the vibes of century-old memories, of the looming immortality and sheer superiority of… time. Time that managed to weigh you down and make you realize your own insignificance when confronted with its everlasting eternity… that's what Elena had felt every time she'd entered Stefan's room.

This room now… it was telling a whole different story.

Elena felt that the walls, the furniture, even the carpet on the floor, nothing here was trying to suffocate her in gloomy memories and centuries of misery. This room made her realize what decades of living, what immortality, could really mean.

Independence, freedom… endless possibilities, that's what this room consisted of. Those feelings were nearly tangible in every part of the room. They breezed through it like a gust of the freshest air Elena had ever breathed.

Opening her eyes again (and when exactly had she closed them?) Elena made her way past the bed over to the middle of the big window side. She enjoyed the spectacular view and let her hair flutter in the soft breeze that came through the open window on her right.

"Do you like it?"

Elena had completely forgotten about Damon being there with her and so she nearly got a heart attack when his low voice had suddenly purred right into her ear.

"Like?" Elena swirled around and her face nearly glowed. "Damon, this is… I love it! The windows, the view, the furniture… all of it. It's amazing, really!"

"I'm glad you approve. Although I'm not really surprised that you share my great sense of decoration style. I knew we'd have much more in common than you and my boring brother ever had. We're the perfect match, you and I, Elena." Damon stood inches away from her, his body nearly touching hers, his gaze intense and mesmerizing.

"Damon," Elena had trouble not getting lost in his eyes. She lowered her eyes, but that was even worse because now she was suddenly staring at his perfect mouth, his full and luscious lips, and she unconsciously bit her lower lip to prevent herself from closing the distance between them.

If she were to kiss him now… Damon wouldn't do anything to stop her, Elena knew that. In fact he'd do anything to prove to her that he was indeed as dashing, gorgeous and irresistible as he thought.

Elena closed her eyes and tried desperately to hold onto one last straw of self-control. But then, suddenly, the words he'd said finally pierced her brain and her eyes shot open again.

"Wait, what did you mean, your sense of style? Don't tell me…"

"This is my room, of course," Damon smirked. "Who did you think it belonged to?"

"I, ugh… I didn't," Elena stuttered and let her eyes sweep around the room once again. She realized at once that it was true. This room obviously wasn't a spare like the first one he'd shown her. This room possessed a certain air of… inhabitance.

A male inhabitance.

And, Elena had to admit, now that she knew what to look for she could see evidence of Damon living here in every corner. All around the room certain things sprang to her eyes, general things like the lack of personal items, pictures or simply the small amount of books. But also more specific details… the enormous high-tech flat-screen for example, a small bottle of aftershave on the sideboard, or a discarded black belt thrown over the back of a chair… it were small things, indifferent things, and yet they all connected in Elena's head and formed pieces of a puzzle labeled Damon.

Elena let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd held. Her eyes once again found Damon's and she couldn't help but return his smile. It wasn't one of his trademark smirks but a true, genuine smile.

"Welcome to your new home," Damon's voice pulled her out of her stunned state at last.

"What? No, I…" Elena shook her head. This was Damon's room. She couldn't take his room, she couldn't! Even if it was the most beautiful room in the entire world and Elena's whole being itched to be here, to sink onto the bed and let the feeling of freedom wash away all her worries.

No, she couldn't! Elena squared her shoulders and pulled a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Damon, this is your room. I can't take your room."

"Sure you can," he shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just a room, Elena. It doesn't mean anything to me."

Elena couldn't quite believe that. This… all this magnificence, it had to mean something, even to him. She let her eyes roam around again and almost missed Damon's next words.

"Besides, it's big enough for us. It shouldn't be a problem sharing it."

Elena's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "What? Share?"

Damon merely smirked.

"I'm not gonna share a room with you!"

"Why not?" Damon took a step closer and hovered over her. "You said you loved it. And I happen to love it, too."

"You said it didn't mean anything to you," Elena groused. "You also said that you don't want me to share a room with Stefan, who is my boyfriend. But it's okay for us to share a room? Why's that?"

"If I have to explain it to you," Damon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "then you're obviously not as clever as I thought, Elena."

"Ugh, I'm going," Elena brushed past him, suddenly upset. The room with its beauty had clearly addled her brain and for a second there she'd forgotten that Damon was… Damon.

She reached out for the door and for the second time today ran smack-faced into a broad chest when Damon once again blocked her path.

"Relax, you can have it," Damon sighed, an almost bored expression on his face. It was no fun teasing Elena when she wasn't firing back.

"Really?"

"Really." Damon was pleased to see the genuine smile brighten up her face. His mouth twisted upwards and he added: "Under one condition."

Elena took on a defensive pose and waited for him to go on.

"You said it yourself, this is an amazing room. And I've never had to give it up for anyone before, ever. So I guess it's just fair for you give me something in return. Something that really means something to you."

"But you said the room didn't mean…"

"I lied, okay?" Damon cut Elena off with a roll of eyes. "Of course it means something. Come on, have you seen my TV? It's worth at least…"

Now it was Elena's turn to roll her eyes. "Okay, I get it. So what do you want in return? I'm not saying I agree with your terms, I can still move in with Stefan and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But, let's just say I'll think about agreeing. Hypothetically speaking, what would you ask of me in return?"

"An hour of your time," Damon answered.

"An hour?" Elena frowned. "I thought you meant something really valuable."

"And time isn't valuable for you? I'd figured that since you're mortal, unlike me, a human who's aging as we speak, well, that for you time would be something valuable. But if it's not… "

"Okay," Elena cut him off. Damon's smirk grew and he leaned closer to her face. "Okay? Does that mean you agree?"

"Just one hour, right?"

"Yes," Damon nodded. "One hour you spend with me however I want, whenever I want."

He noticed Elena seriously was considering it and he had to suppress a laugh. She had to like the room very much if she'd really think about…

"Okay, I agree."

"Great," Damon clapped his hands and grinned. "Well, then… I guess you make yourself at home now while I go shopping." He opened the door and stepped out into the halls.

"Shopping?" Elena poked her head through the door and stared after him.

"Sure," Damon turned around and walked backwards. "After all, I need supplies for our big event!"

"Supplies? What supplies?" Elena gulped forcefully. Oh damn, what the hell had she gotten herself into? "Damon, what supplies?"

"That, Elena," Damon suddenly startled her with materializing right in front of her again. "You'll find out tonight! Ttfn!" And then he was gone as quickly as he'd come.

"Damn vampire-speed," Elena growled and looked down to the ground. Her suitcase stood on the threshold. Damon must have brought it over. Elena heaved it inside with a small smile. "Giving me his room, bringing me my suitcase… he's really charming! Why can't he be like this all the time?"

She was about to close the door when Damon's faint voice coming from downstairs suddenly reached her ears: "Because that would make me as boring as my brother is and you'd tire of me just as quickly as you will of him! And we don't want that, do we?"

"Damn vampire-hearing!" Elena shouted and closed the door with a smash.

"I heard that, too!" Damon's smug reply was the last thing Elena heard before she plopped down onto the king-size bed.

Oh God, what had she been thinking, moving in with two vampires? She'd never have privacy ever again! And what was it that Damon planned for tonight? What would Stefan have to say to all of this? Her sleeping in Damon's room? Their agreement? What would Stefan say?

Elena buried her face in the silk covers and groaned.

And why did this bed have to smell so good? How the hell was she supposed to stop thinking about Damon when she was surrounded by his delicious scent?

'Oh God, this living-with-vampires-thing? It's quickly gonna turn into my own personal hell', Elena just knew it!

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**TBC**

_**Probably, possibly... if you want me to. Do you? And if so, what funny, hilarious or, better yet, hot and sexy situations can you imagine coming up? Huh, I guess even something as mundane as washing dishes or dusting would be hot and sexy if Damon was doing it, right? So, what do you want me to write for you? Let me know, please. I'm on a roll.**_


	2. Dinner For Three

_You guys have no idea how thrilled I am that so many people added this to their favorites and also that countless people put me on author alert or even favorite author. I am beyond amazed and terribly sorry for not keeping up with getting out personal replies to your reviews. Let me thank you this way, you guys rock. And I'm writing for each and every one of you. Team Damon so wins!_

_On to the next part of our funny new living arrangements. Please note that as of now, this will be completely AU.  
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**Dinner For Three**

The afternoon sun was slowly setting and Damon was chopping carrots when he finally sensed his brother enter the house through the back door. Stefan had been out all day, a fact that Damon had noticed rather happily since that way he'd had their new house-guest all to himself.

Not that he'd seen much of Elena, mind you. First Damon had been out, shopping (and finding a nice dumb girl to quickly feed on, but no need to tell Elena, right?), and when he'd returned to the house he'd sensed Elena still cooped up in her new room, busily making herself at home there. In **his **room, really but… now it was hers.

Damon still had trouble believing that she'd actually taken him up on the offer. Instead of simply moving in with Stefan, her boyfriend, like Damon had expected her to, Elena had agreed to take Damon's room. She'd even made a deal with him in return. One hour of her time, spent with him, when and how he liked.

The room really must have made a big impression on her if she was willing to… succumb to the diabolical Damon Salvatore, 'self-serving psychopath without redeeming qualities'. Wasn't that what Elena had called him?

And a truer description he'd never heard.

Damon let out a soft chuckle and turned his attention back to the carrots that needed to go into the salad he was preparing. Another tiny step on his way to make Elena his. The first had been the room and now there would be dinner.

Wasn't there a phrase saying: _The way to anyone's heart goes through the stomach_? Well, Damon wasn't really sure it was Elena's heart he was after because… seriously, what would he want with that, huh?

Once he'd have it, he wouldn't know what to do with it, since he'd never…

Well, no need to get into that now, was there? No, Damon was sure that it wasn't Elena's heart he was after. After all, capturing her heart would lead to feelings, feelings would lead to puppy-love, puppy-love would lead to draining puppies instead of humans and that thought was about as scary as it could get. He'd sooner die than walk down the St. Stefan road of misery, thanks very much!

So, definitely not Elena's heart then.

Truth to be told, Damon didn't know what exactly it was about Elena that he wanted. Or what it was that had made him want her at all.

At first it had been the looks, sure. Her resemblance to Katherine was what had drawn him in, just like it had Stefan. But he'd quickly learned that she was nothing like Katherine at all. She was…

Honestly, there was no word in Damon's extensive vocabulary to label her properly.

She was stubborn, infatuating, annoying, holier-than-thou… she was all of that and so much more. And he needed to have her.

When Damon had gotten to know her more, when he'd seen the way she'd resisted him time and time again… it had been the need to conquer her, to break through that armor, then.

He had to admit that he'd come to admire Elena for the fire that burned within, for her passion, her courage… for the way she fought him, talked back at him.

He'd never met anyone that could turn even a simple talk about the weather into a snark-fest.

Damon loved it.

And once he'd be through with the steps of his 'Make-Elena-Mine' plan, Elena would see reason and she'd know that he was the far better choice. She'd come to him, and leave Stefan hang out to dry.

Speaking of, Damon suddenly realized that his brother had been silently lurking in the doorway for a long time now.

"Hello Stefan," he greeted without turning around. He could feel Stefan still just standing in the doorway, half in half out, like a child that knew it wasn't supposed to be there but couldn't stay away either.

Damon smirked to himself, pleased with his rather fitting comparison.

"What's this?"

Even Stefan's voice sounded like it belonged to a petulant child.

"Dinner," Damon still focused his gaze on the task at hand, meaning cutting the vegetables and not his fingers.

"Dinner," Stefan repeated suspiciously and Damon could hear him walk closer to the counter. "I thought you preferred yours still walking around, fawning over you? Since when do you actually cook dinner? And do I even wanna know what's the smell coming from the oven?"

Damon finally looked up and shot his brother a smirk. "'Yes' to the first, the second is 'since we have a human resident here again' and third, what do you mean, the smell?" Damon looked offended but his eyes gleamed with mirth. "Have you gotten so used to your food still having feathers on that you don't remember the smell of roasted chicken?"

The corners of Stefan's mouth twisted up mockingly. "That," he pointed to the oven, "doesn't smell like roasted chicken. More like burnt chicken."

"That's because you've never even heard of 'haute-cuisine'," Damon scoffed. "And you're distracting me. Go away. Do something useful. Like, brush your teeth to get rid of the squirrel-taste."

Damon shooed his brother off and then called after him: "And wash your hands, dinner's in five minutes. Oh, and tell Elena to come down as well!"

Damon couldn't help himself, he was really looking forward to hearing Elena's confession to Stefan. The look on his brother's face when he'd learn that Elena wouldn't share his room but had chosen to stay in Damon's room instead... Damon really couldn't wait.

"There's no need," a female voice suddenly chimed in from the stairway, "I'm here."

Damon heard Elena and Stefan softly greet each other in the hallway and nearly held his breath in anticipation. But when he heard them kiss only he turned to the oven instead. Well, he'd sure find a way to bring the topic up during dinner.

Damon sensed Elena enter the kitchen no thirty seconds later. Alone. Stefan was heading upstairs. Perhaps he'd really do for once what Damon had suggested. No dinner could ever taste good if you'd still have feathers or a squirrel's bushy tail sticking out from between your teeth, right?

"Euagh," Damon shuddered at the thought.

"Hey," Elena walked up to lean against the counter opposite from Damon and watched him pull a heavy casserole from the stove. "Can I help with something?"

"Nope, all set!" Damon flashed her a brief smile. "You're just in time. You've been up there all day, I was afraid I'd have to pry you from my room by sheer force."

"No," Elena shot back, "the burnt smell chased me out at last."

"Hey, this is not burnt!"

"Alright," Elena rolled her eyes but then she simply watched him work. Never in a million years had she thought Damon could turn out the domestic type. And besides, the whole day felt to her like a fall down the rabbit hole and she was Alice in Wonderland, discovering a new and completely bizarre world. First the wonderful room, now dinner…

"And you're the perfect Cheshire Cat," Elena observed, unaware that she'd spoken out loud.

"I'm what?" Damon almost dropped the salad bowl and turned to her.

"Ugh, nothing," Elena blushed.

But Damon had heard her comment well enough. He grinned to himself when he stuck a set of serving spoons into the bowl and mixed the salad one last time.

"Come on," he jerked his head and picked up both the salad and the heavy casserole. "Let's have dinner!"

"Ugh, Damon, wait," Elena quickly stepped into his path. "There's something… about the room and our, well, our arrangement…"

"Elena," Damon sought her eyes and then indicated to his full hands. "Despite what you think of my doubtless vampire-strength, these are actually kind of heavy, so… can we discuss this later? Whatever it is, huh?"

"Okay," Elena agreed and stepped aside to pick up the whine. "Just, promise you won't rub it in to Stefan, okay? That I took your room and not..."

"Now why would I do that?" Damon threw over his shoulder when he walked out of the kitchen into the dining room next to it.

"Because you're you," Elena muttered under her breath and followed, sure he would be able to hear her. She entered the dining room, squaring her shoulders and ready for this show to get rolling, but at the sight in front of her Elena stopped dead in her tracks.

She didn't recognize the room although she knew she'd been inside before. But this…

The curtains were drawn and the electric lights were turned low enough to not overshadow the several white candles that stood on the long dining table. Their silver holders were polished to the extreme and glistened brightly.

Three silver plates were set on one end of the table, one at the head and the others on each side of it. The white china, the silverware, the whine and water glasses… everything looked perfect.

"Wow, again!" Elena breathed out and looked at Damon. "You did all this?"

"Sure," he shrugged and then… Elena's eyes nearly budged when Damon went behind the chair at the head side and pulled it out for her. His moves, the way he held his body, and… why hadn't she noticed before that he was wearing a suit? It was all black, pants, shirt and jacket, but… it was an actual suit and not his usual jeans-and-leather outfit.

And, damn, he knew how to pull it off! Elena had rarely seen anyone move with such natural grace and ease. It was old-fashioned and gentlemen-like, sure, but not over-the-top, put-on or stuffed… not at all.

Damon's natural elegance, and Elena couldn't believe her own thoughts, combined with the formal attire… it was beautiful.

He was beautiful.

Damon stared at her and Elena couldn't have torn her eyes away even if she'd wanted to. But why should she? She'd rather drink in the sight…

Stefan entered the room from the other side of the halls and Elena snapped out of her haze. God, what had she been thinking?

Unconsciously her hand reached up to her chest to feel the securing cold of her vervain-necklace. For a moment there she'd been sure Damon had compelled her to think all those things. But… it seemed he didn't really need to, for Elena knew that if Stefan hadn't broken the tension by entering, Elena would've easily submitted to… whatever.

Trying to get a grip Elena eventually cleared her throat and walked over to the head of the table.

"Thank you," she muttered, voice hoarse, before she glided onto the seat Damon was still holding out for her.

When the two vampires had taken a seat as well, Damon to Elena's left, Stefan on her right, Elena let out a nervous laugh and eyed the pristine napkin in front of her.

"God, I feel like I should be wearing a dress or something," she breathed out and send Stefan a smile. "I feel slightly underdressed."

"You don't need a fancy dress to be beautiful, Elena!"

Damon nearly gagged at Stefan's sweet comment. But he just rolled his eyes instead and busied himself with serving whine.

First for Elena, then he filled his own glass, and… oh, alright, Stefan did get some as well. Damon lifted his glass and sent a grin around.

"Okay, here's to our new and exciting living arrangements," he held his glass out for Elena to meet it with hers and then he saluted to Stefan over the table. "Let the fun begin!"

'Why does it sound like he really means games instead of fun?' Elena thought but raised the glass to her lips and took a sip.

"Oh, and before I forget it, Elena," Damon swallowed his whine and threw her a quick smirk. "Don't lock the door to your new room tonight. I might need some of my things before I go to sleep, wherever I'll find a new place, since you stole mine."

'Right! That's why!' Elena sighed inwardly. She threw a quick glare at Damon before she turned to look at Stefan on her right.

He stared wide-eyed back at her before his eyes narrowed and his gaze traveled over to Damon.

"Oops," the elder Salvatore let out and leaned back in his seat.

Let the games begin, alright!

* * *

**TBC**

_I know, I know… you guys hate me right now for leaving you with such an evil cliffhanger. Well, what can I say, I'm evil. No, seriously… this chapter turned out like totally different than I'd planned and I apologize for the lameness of it all. But I so wanted to update today, so… there you have it. You want more, let me know. I'm writing as fast as I can._


	3. Dinner For One

_I can't believe it. This story has only been posted for two days and it's already gotten the fourth most reviews any story of mine ever got. It shot up the ranking list so to speak and I'm completely overwhelmed. Thank you all for your wonderful and kind comments, and please keep them coming. Nothing spurs me on like hearing the sound of my email-account announcing I have a new message._

_This is a very short chapter and you may not like it much, it's mostly Stefan/Elena and it's not funny… but once I'd written it I knew it was necessary, right here, right now. Before the real fun begins. Sorry, but I promise, after this one it's gonna be hot Delena fun only._

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**Dinner For One**

Damon stole a piece of chicken from the casserole and washed it down with a big mouthful of whine. The food was starting to cool off already and, well… it was a shame, really.

All his work in the kitchen would go to waste, since he didn't think Elena or his brother would have a taste for it. Not after what had just happened.

Or, was happening still. If he strained his enhanced hearing Damon could make out the heated voices coming from upstairs where he knew Elena and Stefan were currently arguing in his room.

Damon rested his elbows on the table and cast a bored glance around the empty dining room.

After he'd so casually dropped the ball on his little brother that Elena would be sleeping in his room and not sharing with Stefan… well, things had quickly gone down after that.

And, Damon thought with a sly smile when he remembered Elena storming from the table, Stefan on her heels, enjoying self-made roasted chicken and salad had been the last thing on the girl's mind right then. And so Damon had been left to enjoy the food, or rather the whine, all by himself.

Dinner for three had promptly turned into a mock-version of the old TV sketch comedy that had over the years become a famous classic in some parts of the world, aired every New Year's Eve time and again, while in others it hadn't reached any popularity whatsoever.

Which was a shame because, _Dinner For One_ was really worth a good laugh.

But so was the heated discussion taking place upstairs right now. The muffled voices rose and fell steadily and it didn't seem like an end was in sight any time soon.

"Better save me a seat in the first row then," Damon chuckled and, with the grace of a black panther ready to stalk his prey, slid from his seat. He quickly snuffed the candles and emptied his whine before he left the room.

For this show he'd indulge in something a little stronger.

Damon sauntered through the hall and entered the spacious parlor. He poured himself a glass of Bourbon, took his seat in front of the burning fire and listened in on Elena and Stefan having their first real fight since the girl had moved in only this morning.

* * *

"Stefan," Elena sighed for perhaps the tenth time and turned back from the window to look at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but, this has nothing to do with Damon!"

Stefan had stood close by the door the whole time, shoulders hunched and hands buried in his pockets. But now he moved a few steps further inside, casting a wary glance around before his eyes came to rest on Elena again.

He'd always hated this room, well, not hated but… he'd always felt uncomfortable in here, even during the times he'd stayed at the boarding house without Damon anywhere near. So, it wasn't just the fact that this room belonged to his brother that gave him a strange and distrustful feeling whenever he was here.

It was more than that.

The scent that clung to every piece of furniture inside, that radiated off the floor and even seemed to ooze from the walls… Stefan had never been able to put a name to it but it was something… something big and overwhelming.

It seemed to breeze in through the open windows every day anew and, combined with the huge amount of light that steamed in by day, it always managed to crawl up on him, inside Stefan's skin, and it made him want to scratch an itch he knew wasn't really there. Even by night, when no sunlight was floating in, Stefan longed to close the blinds, to draw the curtains and stop the windows from staring at him, through him.

He felt naked and exposed in this room, like there was no secret, no part of him, that he could keep to himself, away from prying eyes.

There was nothing this room couldn't read from him, wouldn't take from him… nothing this room didn't know.

And that was what Stefan couldn't bear.

But of course Elena couldn't understand that, and Stefan knew better than try to explain his feelings to her now. How should she be able to understand when, Stefan looked at the girl again, when she seemed to be made of exactly the same?

This room fitted Elena like a glove would fit her delicate hand.

Like a priest in his church, like a rose in its garden…

Elena was at home here. She belonged.

And that realization scared Stefan more than anything else ever had.

Because… Elena had been wrong in her attempt to soothe him. She'd said this had nothing to do with Damon when in reality it had everything to do with him.

Everything in Stefan's decades-long-life seemed to be connected to his brother. It all started and ended with Damon.

And Stefan was afraid that Elena would soon realize that, too.

"Stefan," Elena walked closer when no answer had come from her boyfriend's lips after her last statement. "I mean it, this isn't really about the room being Damon's, is it? You're upset because I don't wanna share a room with you yet."

"No, Elena," Stefan shook his head in defeat. "It's not that. I understand, believe me. I do. And it's okay. After all, your reason for moving in with me was so that no other attack like last night would happen again. I get it, really."

"I love you, Stefan," Elena felt the need to reassure him for some reason. "But I'm only seventeen and really moving in with you…"

"It's fine, Elena." Stefan's voice sounded off somehow. "I just wished that you'd chosen a different room, that's all."

"But, Stefan, apart from it being Damon's, don't you think this is an amazing room?" Elena couldn't quite ban the delight from her voice. "Don't you love it, too? Can't you feel it? This room, it's alive! And it makes me feel alive, too."

"I know," Stefan replied. He had to turn away from her, he couldn't stand seeing the obvious joy and excitement in her eyes.

Elena must have noticed his unease, because she hopped up to where he stood, pulled his hands from his pockets, and began twirling them around in some sort of dance to a music only she could hear.

"I love this room, and I love you!"

Stefan had to smile despite the tight knot that had settled in his stomach. He pulled her small form close and put a chaste kiss onto her forehead. "I love you, too!"

Elena's smile was bright and gentle when she looked up to him. "You know what, Stefan? If it truly bothers you so much, then," she shrugged indifferently but Stefan could see the smile fade from her eyes. "Then I'll move to another room first thing in the morning, okay?"

Stefan let his gaze sweep around. His eyes fell onto some of Elena's clothes draped over a chair, her hairbrush on the sideboard and a framed picture of her, Jeremy and her parents on the nightstand… and then he let go of her.

"No, you won't," Stefan stated softly and turned to the door. "Goodnight, Elena."

The firmness in his voice stopped Elena from replying and she simply stood, motionless and silent, and watched him leave the room.

* * *

Damon was just about to fill his glass with Bourbon for the third time when he heard Stefan leave Elena's room. For a split second he thought his brother would come downstairs again and Damon smirked at the prospect of rubbing it in to him some more.

But then Stefan's footsteps trudged up the small staircase to his own room and Damon let out a disappointed sigh. He'd really have loved to rile up his brother with Elena's obvious choice.

Because, even if she didn't know it yet, it hadn't been just a room Elena had chosen today. Damon knew that it had been far more.

Unaware of the fact that she'd been standing in front of a fork on the road for quite some time now, Elena had unconsciously taken the first step down one path, leaving the other option behind without a thought.

And now that Elena was on the road to 'Damon-City', the vampire was determined to make sure she'd not be led astray again. He'd make sure it was a one-way-street she was on, and he had just the right thing in mind for that.

"I may even be able to show her a short-cut," Damon grinned and stood up from the couch to saunter back into the dining room. After all, Elena hadn't had any dinner tonight, and she should be hungry by now, right?

Well, and what kind of host would let his house-guests starve on their first day, huh? Certainly not Damon Salvatore!

Damon quickly filled a plate with food and went into the kitchen to heat it up again. And then he made his way upstairs, dinner for Elena in hand and a predatory smile on his face.

Dinner for one, indeed. Or would it be dinner for two?

* * *

**TBC**

_Please don't hate me for leaving you with yet another cliffhanger. I'll try to do better next time, promise. In the meantime… review please?_


	4. Lessons In History

_Sorry for the long delay, I don't know what happened. I just couldn't find the right words for this. But now here it is. And I think I've tortured you long enough. The D/E fun is about to begin, finally. It's still pretty tame for now, I'm still undecided whether or not I should up the rating to M later on. Let me know what you want, okay? Kidding, it's not that I don't know it already… you want hot sexy smut. But the question is: will I be able to pull it off? I don't want this story to go down in mediocrity once the smut starts. I guess we'll see._

_Oh, and I couldn't help myself: Apart from the obvious spoilery hint (Does the title not automatically connect to a certain picture in your head?), well, apart from that I hid a small spoiler for one of the upcoming episodes. A tiny detail some people felt the need to discuss on LJ and it made me laugh. So, see if you can find it, okay? And I'm not referring to Elena on the couch with a History book._

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**Lessons In History**

Elena was in the bathroom, right in the middle of her bedtime-routine, when she heard a soft knock on the door. It was followed by barely audible footsteps on the carpet and the soft click of the door. Elena quickly bent down to spit a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink.

When she came up again Damon had materialized no two inches behind her.

Elena proudly noted that she didn't flinch.

"Ready for bed already?" Damon's light blue eyes traveled down her body, lingering on some parts longer than others, and Elena took a step aside and self-consciously held a towel to her front.

After all, she was dressed only in her short gray sleeping pants and a plain sky-blue cotton bra, nothing sexy or even remotely seductive about it.

Not that she wanted to look seductive for Damon! No, absolutely not!

Elena felt a blush creeping up her face and she saw Damon's smirk widen, as if he'd somehow read her thoughts. Involuntarily her hand clasped around the vervain-necklace and, to get a grip, she took another step back and glared at him.

"Damon, do you mind?" She made a small gesture with the towel to indicate that he should go the way he'd come in but Damon merely raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, not at all, please go on!"

"Get out!"

Damon easily caught the towel she'd thrown at him in one hand and didn't move. Elena crossed her arms over her chest and fired another glare his way. Damon's eyes darkened in response, fixed on something that was definitely too low on her body to be Elena's face.

She quickly looked down. Oops! With her arms pressed firmly to her chest like this her boobs nearly spilled out of the small bra. No wonder Damon couldn't tear his eyes away!

Elena's arms fell aside and she spun around on her heels, frantically searching for the blue tank top she knew she'd brought inside with her.

"Looking for this?"

Damon had somehow replaced the towel in his hand with her shirt and now held it out to her. But he didn't throw it and so, in order to take it from his hands, Elena had to move far closer to Damon than she'd liked right now.

His presence was making her feel very uncomfortable and she didn't like it one bit. Damon on the other hand seemed to enjoy it just a bit too much. Elena grabbed the tank top from his hands and quickly pulled it over her head.

"Is there something you need?" Elena pointed towards the shelf next to her where some of Damon's toiletries stood. He'd collected most of his things already but apparently not all.

"Need?" Damon's voice was rough. "Now there's a question."

Elena let out a sigh. "What do you want, Damon?"

"Depends on what you're offering!" The leer in his face was unmistakable and it was enough for Elena. She stomped her foot in frustration.

"Stop putting things into my mouth, Damon! God, why does everything you say have to be laced with some sexual innuendo? I told you before, I'm not interested!"

Damon stared at her intently for about two seconds before his whole posture suddenly relaxed. He took a step back and cocked his head to the side. "We'll see about that, but…" he held up a hand to stop Elena from firing back. "You're right, I didn't come here to… or, well, I did actually. I came to put things into your mouth."

Elena's eyes went round as saucers and Damon nearly choked with laughter. "Not **that** kind of thing!" He shook his head and added: "I was talking food! But if…"

"Food?"

"Yeah, you didn't have dinner, so I brought you some." Damon shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Then he turned back to the door and threw over his shoulder: "Come on, before it cools off again."

Elena warily followed the vampire into the bedroom. He hadn't really brought dinner with him, had he?

Well, he had.

A small table had been pulled over to the window so that the windowsill would serve as a seat. There'd even been put a cushion onto the window seat. And the table was filled with a plateful of the deliciously smelling chicken soufflé Elena had missed earlier. A small bowl of salad was placed next to it, complete with two glasses of whine and a bottle of water.

"But," Elena stuttered and threw Damon a surprised look, "when, how… I mean…"

Damon flashed her his boyishly sexy smirk. "Vampire speed, remember? It's good for many things."

"Yeah, so it seems," Elena smiled, suddenly feeling a lot more peaceful towards Damon. Her stomach had been growling earlier and the prospect of enjoying dinner without having to go through the trouble of going downstairs into the empty kitchen and heating up something… it softened her earlier irritation with Damon in the matter of seconds.

"Come on, sit down," Damon motioned for her to follow him to the makeshift dining table. Elena followed silently, too stunned to speak.

* * *

"You know," Elena spoke around a mouthful of salad some time later. "I feel slightly underdressed again! Now even more than before."

She'd put a black sweater over her tank top and a soft woolen blanket covered her bare legs as she sat on the window seat, feet tucked under her in a comfortable lotus position. Damon was lounging beside her, stretched out completely. He'd taken off his shoes and socks and his bare feet were now crossed at the ankles. He was resting his head on his crossed arms a few inches from Elena's knee and was looking at her upside-down. Elena thought that his smile looked less malicious like this. But not for long because suddenly his grin widened.

"Underdressed? Is that some kind of backwards way of telling me I look hot? I know!"

"No, I just meant…" Elena weakly pointed first down her body and then to him still wearing his suit.

"To pay me a compliment, it's okay," he shrugged in his typical arrogant way. "I'm used to it."

Something like "I bet you are," jumped to the tip of her tongue but Elena quickly swallowed it down along with the food. It would only boost his confidence and she wasn't sure she could handle that. And besides, Damon was kind of right after all.

"Well, okay," she shrugged instead. "I have to admit, you do look good in a suit." And before Damon could reply anything Elena added with a glint in her eyes: "Especially relaxed like this. You look… normal, you know? Nothing like the self-serving psychopath I know you really are."

"Ouch," Damon put a hand to his non-existent heart. "You wound me, Elena."

"No, I didn't," Elena watched Damon abandon his relaxed position. He quickly sat up and looked at her. "I'm sure nothing I'd ever say could really hurt you. Everything seems to just, I don't know, bounce off, doing no harm at all."

Damon stared at her, his gaze intense and thoughtful, before he reached for his glass of whine without commenting. He saw Elena shrug and take a sip of whine herself and he knew, deep down inside, that she was wrong.

She had no idea but Elena was perhaps the only person in the world, the only human, with the power to truly hurt him. But she didn't know that, or at least she didn't believe it yet, and Damon had every intention of keeping it that way.

Elena watched Damon's face for a while. There was something in his eyes… if it had been anyone else she would have called it… caution. But Damon and caution… Elena knew that these two didn't go together, at all.

Damon was perhaps many things; smug, sarcastic, devilish being the first attributes that came to her mind. But cautious wasn't anywhere near being a possibility. It just wouldn't fit in her head.

The silence that had fallen over them felt surprisingly comfortable and it was only broken by the soft noise of Elena's fork scraping over the plate from time to time and her chewing. While she was busily shoveling the food Damon simply watched her and drank his whine.

"Ooof, I think I've had enough," Elena sighed after a while and put the empty plate onto the table.

She closed her eyes and leaned backwards to let her head rest against the cool window. Her stomach felt happily full again and she was secretly glad for the lack of restricting clothes around her middle. If she'd worn jeans she knew she'd have to open the first button by now. The sleeping shorts she was wearing under the blanket thankfully had an elastic waistband.

"That was really great, Damon."

Damon only send her a pleased-with-himself smile but didn't respond.

"Were did you learn how to cook anyway?" Elena threw a curious look towards him. "Since, you know, you don't eat."

Damon seemed to contemplate the question for a second, maybe pondering how much of himself he should reveal to her, but then he shrugged.

"Italy."

"Italy?" Elena raised an eyebrow and waited for him to go on.

Damon turned his head and looked out of the window into the night. "A couple of decades ago. I think it was in the early 1920'th, a few years after World War I. Anyway," he looked back to Elena again. "I stayed in Florence for a while and, there was this guy, Alessandro. He owned a restaurant and I spent a lot of time there, so he started teaching me."

"Why?" Meeting Damon's questioning gaze Elena quickly went on: "I mean, I take it he was human, right? Why did you spend so much time with him? Enough for him to show you how to cook? You don't seem to be interacting much with humans, at least not in the long run. I always thought you put up with us stupid humans only to… you know."

Damon let out a low chuckle. "You mean to feed?"

"Yeah, that or, you know, for sex." Elena had trouble fighting a blush. She didn't know why, she wasn't a prude and usually she didn't have a problem talking about sex. But, talking about sex with Damon… that felt weird somehow. Especially when he kept sending her these intense looks. Like he was doing now.

"I didn't have sex with him if that's what you're fishing for," Damon smirked. "Sorry to disappoint, Elena, but this isn't one of those stories. Of course, I could tell you about the times I…"

"What? Eww, no," Elena's face scrunched up. "Thanks. I don't think I wanna know, ever."

"No? Not up your street?" Damon's eyes shone with glee. "Two hot guys getting it on… or, in my case, one extremely hot vampire and one good-looking enough guy."

"Stop it! Or you'll damage me for life!" Elena cried and playfully slapped Damon on the arm. "I don't think I'll ever get rid of the picture you just put into my head, Damon!"

"Am I naked in it? Then it can't be that bad."

"Tell me more about the time you spent with this guy Alessandro," Elena tried to change the subject. Damon seemed to be in an unusual nice mood tonight, he seemed more open for some reason, and Elena had long since wanted to learn more about his past.

Not about the evil things he'd obviously done, she didn't care to hear about how many people he'd killed in his long life. But, she was interested in how he'd spend the many years, the places he'd been to, the things he'd seen… Elena thought that she'd probably learn more about history from him than she'd ever find in a textbook. And if Damon was willing to share…

"So, he owned a restaurant in Florence," she tried to coax more from Damon by sending him an encouraging smile. "Aaaand…? How did you two meet?"

"Technically I met his daughter first," Damon smirked and Elena rolled her eyes in response. She should have known, of course.

"She was this sweet little girl, barely fifteen, and of course she fell madly in love with me the minute she met my irresistible self."

"Of course," Elena injected mockingly.

Damon raised an eyebrow as if daring her to prove otherwise. Then he went on: "I think her name was… Margarita, yep, that's it. She had eyes like almonds and beautiful long red locks. Her skin was like the finest porcelain, white and creamy, and her scent was like…"

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'apricots' or 'yellow plums' or anything like that I'm out of here, you know?" Elena stated dryly.

"What?" Damon stared at her in utter confusion.

"The Plum Girl? From _**The Perfume**_?" Elena shook her head in mock-disgust. "You just sounded like that creep Grenouille who murdered countless red-haired girls for their scent."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's a book, Damon!" Elena let out an exasperated sigh. "We read it in class a while ago. It's about this guy in France, 18th century I think, and he murders all this girls because he wants to possess their scent. The book's full of descriptions of this apricot-scent and all that. I don't remember the details but," she stopped and sent Damon a knowing smile. "I remember the guy was eaten in the end. By humans."

"You read that kind of stuff in class?" Damon frowned disapprovingly. "No wonder kids these days all go crazy. What happened to the good old classics? Blake, Byron, Chandler, Shakespeare? Ever heard of any of them?"

"Have you?" Elena shot back.

"Didn't I just point that out by throwing their names at you? I've had my share of literature, believe me. Although instead of spending the years hiding in a dark corner, brooding over books and sprouting stupid poetry like my boring brother," Damon flashed her a smirk, "I was out there, enjoying life!"

"Yeah, I can definitely see you enjoying life," Elena stated more to herself. Damon of course heard it. "Yep, I especially enjoy taking the life of others."

Elena noticed that Damon's voice suddenly lacked the mocking, playful tone in which he normally spoke. Especially when talking about killing people. Usually he'd make fun of everything but now Damon's voice sounded somber, even remorseful maybe. But that couldn't be, could it? Damon Salvatore didn't know the meaning of remorse, let alone feel any. He'd said so himself, once, standing over Vicky's dead body.

Elena silently eyed him for a long time, trying to figure out what was going on behind those cerulean eyes that normally sparkled with mirth. Finally she whispered: "Is that what you did to that girl in Florence as well? And her father Alessandro? Take their lives?"

Damon's head spun around and he shot her a closed-off glare. "What do you think?"

"I think there's more to it than that."

Damon lowered his gaze and stared at his hands instead. She was right, as always. How could it be that she knew how to read him so well?

A small hand suddenly covered his and gave it a comforting squeeze. Damon stared at it in shock. Then his eyes slowly met hers, brown pools full of gentle understanding.

"Tell me," Elena whispered in that low voice that Damon had rarely heard directed at him. She'd always reserved it for his brother. He gulped and looked down at their joint hands again.

"You wanna know how I killed them both?" His voice was rough and he had to clear his throat. "And his wife as well? After they'd treated me like family for six months because they thought I'd marry the girl? Is that what you wanna know?"

"No," Elena released Damon's hand he felt the loss immediately. "Not how. I wanna know why. I wanna try to understand."

"What's there to understand?" Damon tried to get his voice back under control. He went for flashing Elena a malicious smirk, complete with black eyes and a hint of fangs, but he knew it came out wrong. Strained. "I screwed with the girl, fed on her too of course, played the perfect son-in-law for six months, got bored, so I started screwing the mother as well. Alessandro found out, wasn't too pleased, so I killed them all. End of story."

Elena stared into the dark orbs, took in the hint of black veins surrounding them, the flash of sharp teeth between slightly parted lips… and wondered about the amount of hurt behind the mask.

Those people had to truly have meant something to Damon if he only managed to talk about them while hiding behind his vampire cover.

Without feeling a ounce of fear Elena placed a hand onto Damon's cheek. "If only it were that easy, huh?"

Damon's cheek burned. His fangs retreated and his eyes changed back to their usual blue color, shock and bewilderment clearly visible for once. He couldn't believe it. How could she not be appalled? Disgusted? She wasn't even afraid!

This wasn't right! Elena's touch nearly made him lower all his barriers for her, it almost made him want to...

Elena felt a sudden gust of wind and then Damon was gone from the seat beside her. She looked up in shock.

"Wait!" she cried out, desperate to stop him from bolting. Her eyes flew to the other end of the room where Damon suddenly stood, one hand on the open door, staring back at her as if he wasn't sure what had made him stop in his flight. But whatever it had been, he didn't seem to like it one bit. He looked angry.

Elena closed her eyes briefly. The moment was gone, she knew that nothing she'd say would make him come back. The defensive walls were back up again. She lowered her head in regret.

"Thank you for the dinner," Elena stated softly, sure he'd hear.

When she looked to the door again Damon was gone. "Goodnight, Damon."

Elena thought she'd heard the faintest reply.

"Goodnight."

* * *

**TBC**

_See? I'm not always leaving you with evil cliffhangers. Hope you liked the bit about Damon's past that I made up. Let me know._


	5. SelfReflection And Irresistibility

_Two chappies in one day, to make up for the fact that, come tomorrow, the updates won't come as quickly as before. I'm starting my new job and won't have that much free-time on my hands. Sorry. But I'll try to get as much writing done as possible. I'll even neglect all my other WIP's and make this story my first priority, thanks to the amazing response I'm getting to this. And, after all, there's much to be told before this story will come to its (hopefully happy) end._

**_Attention, please! Change of canon facts._**_ I know that, since this story is set after Episode 1x16, Damon should have hooked up with Matt's mom Kelly already. But for the purpose of this, please accept that I had to change that. He didn't. The whole 'drinking with Kelly and Jenna at the Grill and hooking up with Kelly later' didn't happen yet. Okay? Okay! I also twisted the circumstances of Vicky's body being found a little bit to fit them to my purpose. I hope you don't mind._

_Sorry if there are any mistakes, I wrote this in the span of three hours._

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**Self-Reflection And Irresistibility**

Damon entered the dark driveway to the boarding house a few hours after he'd left, on foot, more frustrated and upset than he'd already been before.

He'd felt the sudden need to go out and feed after his nightly talk with Elena. The damn talk that had brought on way too many unwanted memories and hadn't gone anywhere close to what he'd had in mind.

So, to get his mind off things, Damon had left the house to feed.

He'd planned to quickly single out a woman, any woman, at the Grill to sweet-talk into leaving with him. That was, after all, what he was good at, wasn't it? No, not good. He was Damon Salvatore, brilliantly skilled in the art of seduction! He was the God of Seduction!

The act had been the same old for decades, and it always would be.

Attract attention with his gorgeous looks, flirt, take whoever he wanted outside, a quick hook-up, more than satisfying for both parts (he'd never leave the women wanting, he had some manners after all – even if they were basically self-serving) and after that would always come the deeply-ingrained routine of 'drain 'em dry and kill 'em dead'. Or, if he'd feel generous, wipe their memory instead of killing. Although, he had to admit, lately it had been mostly the latter. He hadn't killed anyone in far too long.

That should have been the first clue for him to notice that something had changed since he'd come to Mystic Falls a few months ago. That something was abso-fucking-lutely wrong with him.

Well, of course he'd hopped onto the clue-bus already, he wasn't a complete idiot!

Damon had realized that he'd compromised his evil standards ever since he'd started hanging out with his stupid, sainted brother, Elena and her merry band of little humans.

It had started out with not killing off Elena or any of her friends. Because that would bring him Stefan's and, more importantly, Elena's wraths. And as long as she hadn't succumbed to his charms he needed to stay on his, well, not good but… his less bad behavior.

But Damon had been sure that it had all been an act. Play good with Elena and her friends and family until she'd give in to him, like he knew she eventually would. That had been the plan and that's what he'd been sure he'd done.

He'd been convinced that he'd have no qualms killing any of them if not for Elena's sake. Any human. Anyone, any time, any place. Wasn't that what he'd thrown at his brother after killing that football coach not too long ago?

So, what had changed since then?

Why had he, Damon Salvatore, bad ass villain extraordinaire, not been able to follow through with his own principles tonight?

And it wasn't just the fact that he hadn't killed anyone. No, it was far worse than that!

He'd done something… good! Something considerate and nice. Something kind and completely unselfish!

He'd acted the responsible adult!

Damon growled in frustration and smashed his fist into a conveniently near stone pillar. His hand hurt like hell and his knuckles were bleeding when he pulled it out of the stone, seems he'd broken it in his pent-up anger. Great! The night couldn't end any better, could it?

Now he had a ruined hand on top of his ruined self-reflection!

Thank God for the vampire-healing that would take care of his hand in the matter of minutes. Damon only wished that it would do the same to his self-esteem.

But no chance in that, was there?

Not after the night he'd just had! He could barely think about what he'd done without flinching.

It all had started shortly after he'd entered the Grill. There hadn't been that many customers, it had been late after all. He'd spotted the lonely woman at the bar almost immediately, but she'd looked a little too worse for wear and way past her prime already and so Damon hadn't spared her another thought but had checked out the other females instead.

That's when the first problem had crept up on him. The second he'd given anyone the once-over he'd spotted the flaw in his 'friendship' with Elena. He'd known almost any woman in there by name, they were all connected to Elena somehow!

Damon had looked at her aunt Jenna sitting there with that damn unkillable teacher. Stefan had told him about Saltzman coming back from the dead, and…well, wasn't that just a blast? The only one he'd managed to kill lately, and he couldn't even stay dead for crying out loud! That was so unfair!

Focusing his interest back on the female customers of the Grill Damon had found but two women he didn't know. Two fucking women not connected to Elena somehow, at least that he knew of. So that meant he'd only be able to settle on one of them for tonight's quick fun.

Then, things had gone worse after he'd established that he'd just have to take one of those two without seeing Elena's disapproving glare in his mind. So… one of them would have to do.

Damon's already limited choice had been diminished even further when he'd soon after that sauntered over to start his act on the pretty red-head he'd only seen from behind so far. She'd turned towards him, sensing his advances somehow, and that's when the night had really started going to hell.

She'd looked like Margarita, the girl he'd told Elena about earlier. The one from Florence…

Damon had actually stumbled in his steps, had quickly changed direction and had fled for the restrooms instead! He, Damon Salvatore, had fled the scene!

Once in the restrooms, the face staring out of the mirror had been pale and drawn, like it had seen a ghost. He'd known of course that the girl hadn't been Margarita, but… he couldn't shake the feeling of that long forgotten ghost and so he'd have to settle for the not-so-pretty-anymore woman he'd first seen at the bar, nursing a lonely drink.

When Damon had made his way up to her though, he'd noticed that Jenna had taken up the bar stool to the women's left and was chatting amiably with her.

Great, another connection to Elena.

Nevertheless Damon had sauntered over and, after introductions had been made by Elena's more than a little smashed aunt, had soon enough been engaged in a lively game of drowning shots with her and Kelly. Who'd turned out to be Matt's mom (and Vicky's – Damon's mind had supplied without being asked at all).

The three of them had continued to drink for maybe half an hour when suddenly Sheriff Forbes had come up to them and, in a quiet and serious voice, had asked Kelly to come with her. Kelly hadn't wanted to, in fact she'd made a bit of a fuss, and… well, to make a long story short, Damon had suddenly found himself right in the middle of some human drama that would have easily qualified for coming straight out of a damn soap opera. He would have laughed out loud if he hadn't found himself right in the center of it all. On more accounts than one.

Sheriff Forbes had taken him aside and had clued him in. Vicky's body had been found in the woods and now someone had to take her mother home to an already sobbing Matt, where she'd be told the awful news.

And before he'd known it Damon had heard himself volunteer for the task at hand, namely getting Kelly and Jenna home safe (thanks to the state they'd been in Damon had turned out to be the only one still fit to drive, or so Sheriff Forbes had deduced).

And Damon had agreed! Without a second thought he'd taken Jenna's car keys, had hauled the women into the SUV and had taken them to the Donovan's house. There he'd waited for the Sheriff to show up again to take over the mess, and he'd even stayed while they'd been told about Vicky.

He'd ended up with a sobbing Jenna in his arms and he'd caught himself whispering comforting words into her hair.

Damon had tried to console a human, without even realizing it! A human that was mourning the death of a girl he'd killed himself!

When Damon had finally become conscious of the completely absurd situation he'd found himself in he'd done the only thing possible. He'd quickly made his excuses and had bolted from the Donovan's house.

Outside he'd nearly cried out in his frustration. And rage. And shame, and… damn, he couldn't even name all the things he'd felt right then.

What was fucking wrong with him?

All he'd wanted to do was grab a quick bite and he'd ended up playing the comfy-blanket to humans? Unconsciously and, worse for he couldn't deny it, willingly?

Oh God, he was straight on his way to turn into his brooding brother, wasn't he?

That thought had shocked Damon more than anything, and instead of quickly swinging by the hospital to steal some blood bags like he'd just been about to do… he just wanted to go home and get thoroughly wasted!

So that's what he'd do now that he'd finally reached the boarding house's front door.

Damon smashed open the door and stormed into the living room, going straight for the sideboard that held the well-stocked bar. He wasn't even trying to be quiet as so to not wake up his brother or Elena…

"Elena," Damon growled when one thought suddenly made it to the forefront of his addled brain. "She's the one to blame for all this mess!"

He knocked back his drink and immediately filled his glass again. "She's the reason I'm doing all those stupid things!" Another drink followed.

"She's the reason I don't recognize myself anymore!" Damon refilled his glass again and drowned the burning liquor in one go. "She's the reason I've turned into St. Stefan the Good and Righteous! She's the reason I haven't killed anyone in weeks! And she's the fucking reason I haven't gotten any blood tonight!"

Each sentence was uttered in pure anger and followed by a new drink every time. Soon enough the first bottle of Scotch was empty and Damon grabbed the next one in line. He had thousands of things to blame the girl for after all. He wasn't anywhere near done when the second bottle clattered to the floor, as empty as the first.

Damon took yet another one and plopped down on the couch with it. His growled rant about Elena was slowly turning into a slurred muttering but he didn't stop.

He was way into the fourth bottle of Scotch when he'd reached the end of all that Elena was to blame for in his eyes.

"She… she makes me crazy with those pretty doe-eyes of hers, mocking me all the time, taunting me with her swaying hips and pouting lips and her pretty boobs almost tumbling out of her bra. And, and… and everything about her tells me she wants me just as much as I want her and yet she clings to my fucking stupid brother and she kisses him and he gets to touch her and she's touching me with her hand as soft as velvet and I'm not allowed to do anything…"

Damon ran out of breath and stopped his tirade. He knocked back another drink, some of it spilling out of his mouth and dripping down his chin. His lips didn't seem to obey him quite as much as they should, he observed. And that was probably Elena's fault as well. Just because she hadn't allowed them anywhere near hers yet. And why was that again?

"She wants me, I know she does," Damon stated, head nodding vehemently to emphasize the fact. "She's just too… too, whatever. I'm gonna do something about that, now!"

And with that in mind Damon rose from the couch. He swayed a little, the floor seemed to be made of some sort of wobbly wood all of a sudden… which was probably Elena's fault as well. Everything had changed since she'd moved in and so… why shouldn't the floor have, too?

It made sense in Damon's sloshed brain.

He slowly made his way upstairs and, gripping the banister for leverage, reached the first floor. The walls were slowly spinning around him as he walked down the corridor to his room. Elena had probably had her little witch-friend hex the walls to spin around instead of standing still. Pffft, as if something like hexed walls could ever stop him from getting to Elena!

Damon finally reached the door to his room, or Elena's room… their room, now that sounded just right!

He looked back the way he'd come and threw a quick finger-greeting at the walls.

"Ha, couldn't stop me!"

Damon opened the door and tried to close it after him again. But somehow it didn't obey (was probably hexed, too) and it bounced open again, right into his face.

"Ouch, fuck!"

Damon reeled back, pressing a hand to his hurt forehead, and when his shoe caught on something lying on the ground he let out another curse and promptly fell face-first onto the carpet.

The bedside lamp suddenly sprang to life and Elena sat bolted-up in bed. "Huh? What…?"

Then her sleep-addled eyes made out then motionless form on the floor.

"Damon?"

The vampire didn't react. He was out cold.

Elena let out a sigh and, quickly pushing out from under the soft covers, stood up to check on Damon lying unconscious on her floor.

She'd certainly hoped for a more peaceful sleep on her very first night at the boarding house. But, she thought and crouched down next to Damon, perhaps that's what life away from home was all about.

Always expect the unexpected.

Especially when you'd go live with two vampires, one of them being the dashing, gorgeous, irresistible Damon Salvatore who was currently polluting the soft carpet with a small trail of spit running out of the corner of his mouth.

"Not so gorgeous and irresistible anymore, are we, Damon?" Elena smiled and carded a hand through his tousled hair in the softest of butterfly-touches.

Oh, yes, he was irresistible, alright!

* * *

**TBC**

_Terrible, terrible place to stop, I know! Sorry! And I know that Damon's way OOC in the end, I don't know what's gotten into me to write him that hilariously drunk. But… I hope you don't mind too much since it will lead to some D/E sexy fun in the next part. Sorry for teasing you so mercilessly with it but I had to finish this chapter or else I'd never managed to stop. Next part will be up soon I hope._


	6. An Unforgettable Night

**An Unforgettable Night**

_I really hope there are people out there who still remember this story and who are waiting for an update. Here it is, finally._ _I'm terribly sorry to have left you hanging for so long. I don't know what's wrong with me these days. My writing muse seems to have stopped existing. This chapter is rather short and I'm pretty sure it's not at all what you want to read but I couldn't come up with anything else, no matter how hard I tried._

_And I know that I promised you Delena smut for this chapter and I hate to disappoint you but… well, see for yourself. I didn't exactly pick up right where I left (with Damon unconscious on the floor) but I promise I will fill the gap in later chapters. You'll get to know what happened, promise. Right now I decided to tell the story from Damon's POV and since his memory had to have suffered from the influence of too much to drink… Sorry, but he will have to live with a bit of memory loss (and consequently you as well). Oh, and sorry in advance for the rather sappy ending._

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Damon woke up, head pounding furiously and an awful taste on his tongue. It seemed as if one of his dear brother's furry meals had crawled its way into his mouth just to rot there.

With a gagging sound he flinched and turned his head to the side. The cool sheets under his face shifted and Damon buried his nose deeper into the soft smelling fabric of his pillow.

He tried to relax but something in the back of his fuzzy mind kept nagging him. A thought was trying to make its way through the alcohol-induced haze in his head but it was a task nearly impossible. Damon supposed he'd finally managed to drown the last few working cells of his brain in Scotch or Bourbon or whatever booze he'd flavored last night.

Not that he could remember much of it, mind you. Least of all the brand of alcohol he'd tried to drown himself in. It didn't matter anyway, did it?

At least it shouldn't.

Not much had mattered to Damon ever since he'd opened the tomb only to find out about Katherine's betrayal. He'd had his heart ripped out, the sole purpose of his existence had been crushed in the matter of minutes and ever since then nothing had mattered anymore.

Damon had drowned his sorrows in alcohol many nights and had woken up like this, head pounding and eyes too bleary to open just yet. Days and nights, thoughts and feelings, had blurred in his mind with nothing important enough to stand out. Nothing had been worth remembering the morning after. So why was today any different? Why was there still something nagging in the back of his head, trying to fight its way through?

Nothing, no amount of angry tomb vampires nor History teachers looking for revenge, had managed to stay on Damon's radar for long.

Nothing had been important enough.

Not even his brother's pathetic attempts at living a normal human life with his normal human girl. Elena.

And there it was suddenly. The one thought that had been trying to pierce Damon's mind… the one thing capable of holding Damon's interest in a world of unimportance…

Elena.

She'd moved into the house yesterday. She'd opted to stay in Damon's room rather than with Stefan. She'd chosen…

Damon's head shot up and, eyes flying open and staring around in confusion, he took in the familiar surroundings of his bedroom.

This was his room, unmistakably. He recognized the night blue silk sheets of his bed, he saw the sun stream through the familiar window front, but what he didn't see was Elena anywhere.

Shouldn't she be here instead of him (if not with him, which he would undoubtedly have preferred)?

Where was Elena? Where had she slept?

And how had he ended up in his room in the first place?

Damon couldn't remember coming here last night. Or, well, that wasn't exactly right. He knew he'd been up here, he remembered the funny if a bit one-sided dinner he'd had with Elena after all. But he'd stormed off and out of the house to feed…

He remembered his pathetic attempt at chatting up a red-head at the Grill, and then drinking with Jenna and Kelly, followed by what he'd rather not remember… ever!

Damon had come home then and had continued his drinking downstairs. He must have downed shot after shot, bottle after bottle (at least if the foul taste in his mouth was any indication).

He must have had much more than what was good, even for a vampire's constitution.

But that's the point where his memories grew more and more fuzzy until nothing but blackness showed. Damon couldn't for the life of it remember going upstairs again. So, how had he ended up in his own bed? And, a quick look down his body only partly covered by the bed sheet confirmed his suspicions, naked as well?

Where was Elena?

Had she, after a run-in with his drunken self, 'fled the scene' so to speak? Stayed the night with Stefan after all? Or had she been here with him? Had they…?

Damon's eyes immediately flew to the other side of the king-sized bed, as if he expected Elena to suddenly materialize from under the covers.

Of course the right side of the bed was empty though the sheets looked crumpled enough. Like someone had slept there.

Damon lifted his arm and let his hand slide over the small dent in the mattress. It was still warm, and slightly body-shaped.

His brows furrowed. Could it really be that Elena had spent the night beside him in bed? Without him noticing it? And, worse, without him being able to remember any of it? That would be a shame indeed. Damon's frown deepened when his fingers suddenly grazed along a small sheet of paper that was lying innocently on the blue pillow.

He quickly grabbed it and, supporting his upper body on one elbow, brought it close to his face to make out the small scribbled note.

**'_Damon,_**

**_Thank you for making my first night in this house pretty much unforgettable._**

**_I consider our agreement fulfilled with this night. Maybe the 'One Hour Of My Time' wasn't exactly spent wherever and however you wanted, but since I gave you five hours instead of just one… we're even, I should think._**

**_Elena_**

**_P.S.: I hope your head doesn't hurt too much but if it does… blame it on the amount of alcohol you consumed. I'm pretty sure the bathtub has always been this size, no matter that you tried to convince me otherwise last night.'_**

Huh?

The note slipped from Damon's hand and he let his head fall back onto the bed. So Elena had really been here with him. For… what, five hours? They'd spent five hours together and, Damon glanced once again down his naked form, they'd obviously somehow gotten to a point where no clothes were needed.

A pleased smirk made it onto Damon's face. Even if he couldn't remember it, he must have done something right or else the note Elena had left for him would have held a lot more traces of her rage.

Damon picked up the note and read the first part again. So… an unforgettable night, huh?

He closed his eyes, rubbed a hand over his furrowed brows, and tried to remember something, anything, of what had transpired between them.

He came up with nothing.

"Well, shit!"

That wasn't exactly how he'd envisioned his first night with Elena to be. Him being unconscious and completely at her mercy… although there was something quite appealing about it. But, no, he'd much rather have been conscious for it. Or at the very least able to remember it.

But as much as Damon tried to wrack his brain, he came up with nothing but blank. And thinking too much made his head hurt even more.

What had Elena written about that again? Damon scanned the note a third time and focused on the last part. Apparently Elena had known that his head would hurt this morning, so Damon assumed he must have hit it at some point during the night. And what was that bit about the bathtub?

Had he hit his head while taking a shower? Had Elena made him take a shower, trying to get him to sober up? Had they perhaps even taken a shower together?

Damon lifted his arm and sniffed briefly. Yep, definitely shower gel he was smelling there.

So he'd showered last night (with or without Elena, that part he'd have to figure out later). Well, that at least explained why he was naked (not that Damon wouldn't have preferred to have done a lot more fun things that required nakedness last night).

But it didn't explain why Elena wasn't here with him right now. If she'd spent the night with him, why had she taken off?

"Huh, she probably didn't want for St. Stefan to catch his precious girl with his devilishly handsome brother in flagranti," Damon smirked and stretched out more comfortably on the bed. He put his arms behind his head and decided to get a bit more rest before he'd go search for Elena.

His lips twisted into an even bigger smirk when he thought about confronting the girl later. 'An unforgettable night, huh,' he thought pleased. 'Oh, dear Elena, I promise, that was just the first of many more to come.'

Damon's eyed drifted closed and soon enough he was back to being fast asleep, thoughts of Elena still on his mind and making his dreams more pleasant than Damon could ever remember having before.

If anyone would have bothered to watch his face just then they would have seen the smirk on his lips change into a content and for once genuine smile. And they would have known instantly that this was not the 175 year-old vampire he thought himself to be.

This was not Damon Salvatore, vicious killer and psychopath with no redeeming qualities.

One look at his relaxed face would be enough for anyone to realize that this was simply a young man, sleeping the happy sleep of untroubled youth while dreaming about the love of his life.

And that's exactly what came to Stefan's mind when he entered the room a while later, searching for his girlfriend and finding his brother instead. Stefan stared down at Damon's slack form for about two minutes, a dark and knowing look shadowing his eyes, before he let out a low sigh and turned around to look for Elena elsewhere in the house.

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**TBC**

_Damn it, again with the cliffhanger! I'm really sorry, I seem to be unable to end a chapter with anything but these. Please forgive me and tell me what you think about this. Did it suck badly? Not? Are you disappointed? Do you want me to stop teasing you and get on with the good Delena stuff already? Let me know, please._


	7. The Dice Is Cast

_I'm back with a new chapter, sorry it took me so long again. I know that you're all dying to know what happened between Damon and Elena last night, and you will find out a bit more about that in here. But first things first, something else came to my mind, a new plot idea. And since it will help getting Stefan out of the way for a while I went with it. Hope you like it._

_I'd like to dedicate this chapter to an old schoolmate of mine named Peter. Fifteen years ago, when we were at school together, he had this very unique short-sleeved shirt. It was blue and had small multi-colored dice all over. Once, at a party, I tried to count the dice (we were both pretty drunk I guess, it was ridiculous). But somehow I never managed to forget that shirt._

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**The Dice Is Cast**

The bright morning sun steamed through gaps in the curtains, bathing the living room in a soft orange glow. But it didn't wake the girl curled up on the couch.

It couldn't, because Elena wasn't asleep.

She'd been tossing and turning under the soft blanket for quite a while and now she gave the cushion an impatient nudge to get it molded to her back more comfortably. But it wouldn't do. The couch just didn't seem to be cut out to be slept on. It may be perfectly suitable to lounge on, a book on one's knees, when trying to do homework… but sleeping on it had turned out to be truly impossible.

Elena let out an irritated sigh and closed her eyes but, oh god… she opened them again almost immediately. Images of last night rushed to the front of her mind like the most bizarre video clips, only missing the music. An onslaught of pictures flashed before her eyes, one after the other, and all of them had the same person starring in.

Damon.

Damon lying unconscious on the carpet, eyes closed and his face framed by strands of dark tousled hair.

Damon propped up against the bathtub, head lolled aside and his blue eyes blurry and unfocused, but open.

Damon, smirking at her from under long eyelashes, wet hair plastered to his head and drops of water running down his face.

But even worse were the pictures that didn't hold his eyes, his face or his head at all.

Elena tried to block them out, but in between, strangely enough, multi-colored dice (what the hell?)… in between that snippets of pale naked skin flashed before her eyes. Way too much naked skin for Elena's taste. A collarbone, a smooth chest with pectorals to die for, perfectly formed abs, a belly-button framed by a dusting of dark hair that led in a happy-trail down to…

"Ugh, no!" Elena growled, frustrated and ashamed at the same time. She bolted upright on the couch and covered her face in her hands.

She was still seated in the same position when Stefan entered the living room a while later.

"Elena," he greeted her, voice laced with trepidation and his eyes dark with confusion. "Good morning."

Elena's hands sank down. "Ugh, morning, Stefan."

"Why… why did you sleep down here?"

"I… ugh," Elena didn't know what to say and so she simply avoided his eyes and stared to the ground before her. Stefan's gaze followed hers and, taking in the several empty bottles littering the floor, he sat down next to her with a sigh.

"Looks like Damon had himself another party last night."

Elena stiffened. Oh God, did he know? But then she realized that Stefan was merely referring to the empty bottles and she relaxed visibly. That is, until she heard Stefan's next words.

"What did he do to you?"

"Nothing," Elena quickly stood up from the couch and straightened her messy hair. "Nothing happened, Stefan. Really." Eager to leave the topic behind she started walking towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna go get something to drink. And, I'm actually kinda hungry."

Stefan followed on her heels. "Elena," he called after her. "I'm sorry."

She turned around, confusion showing on her face. "About what?"

Stefan sent her an apologetic smile. "You must be nearly starving by now and I feel like it's my fault. I shouldn't have… but it's, well, I guess I'm just not yet used to…"

"What are you talking about?" Elena's confusion was perfect. Why did he assume… oh, right! Stefan didn't know that Damon had brought her dinner last night. He thought she hadn't had anything to eat at all since she'd moved in yesterday. Elena blushed.

"Stefan, it's okay. You don't have to feel… I mean, it's not your job to look after me all the time, is it? I can take care of myself."

"I know," Stefan sent her a small smile. "But I feel like I'm letting you down, Elena."

They'd entered the kitchen and Elena got a glass out, filled it with water from the tap and drank deeply. The water ran down her throat cool and fresh, and she realized she'd been really thirsty. When she'd had enough she set the glass down and turned around, her back leaning against the counter, and eyed Stefan questioningly.

"What do you mean, letting me…" Elena started to ask but Stefan beat her to it.

"I need to leave."

"What?" She gasped. "Leave? Why? Where are you going? And why now?"

Stefan stepped up to her and placed his hands on Elena's hips. "I don't want to and know that this is a bad time, you just moved in here to protect me…"

"And Damon," Elena couldn't stop herself from throwing in.

"Yeah, me and Damon," Stefan added with a nod. "But… I have to leave town for a while."

Elena crossed her arms in front of her and repeated: "Why?"

"I have to take care of some… well, it's a family thing."

"Family," Elena repeated and raised an eyebrow at Stefan's subdued face. "Would that be your real family or do you use that term in a loose way for some vampire business?" Elena didn't know why but her voice had taken on a harsh glint. She couldn't help it, the prospect of Stefan leaving her alone, now of all times, when she was feeling all sides of confused because of what had happened last night… it made her angry.

Stefan must have sensed her anger because he let go of her, took a step back and sighed. He threw a brief look to the ground and then faced her again. "I got a phone call last night, from a lawyer in Seattle. Zach's ex-wife, Miranda…"

"Zach was married?" Elena asked surprised. She hadn't known the former inhabitant of this house that well, in fact she'd only met him once, months ago, when she'd first started to date Stefan. And she'd never gotten the chance to get to know him because Damon had killed him soon after. Neither of them had mentioned Zach much ever since (apart from Damon's brief reference to him yesterday when Elena had stumbled across his former room). Elena hadn't known that Zach had ever been married. She looked at Stefan, silently asking him for more.

"Zach and Miranda married very young and they got a divorce a few years back. I never got the whole story but I guess our family history wasn't something she could deal with and so they broke up. Miranda took the kids and moved to Seattle," Stefan paused and his face turned sad. "She died a few days ago. Apparently she's been sick for a while, with cancer."

"Oh," was all Elena could come up with.

"Yeah," Stefan agreed. "Mr. Peterson, the lawyer that called me, didn't know about Zach's death…"

Stefan trailed off and silence settled over the kitchen.

Eventually Elena asked: "So what now? Did he ask you to come to Seattle? Why?"

"The kids," Stefan replied, "they don't have any relatives left. Miranda didn't have any family and I don't know what's gonna happen to them now. So I need to go to Seattle to figure things out. Me and Damon are the only family they've left after all."

Elena had trouble processing all this new information. Her head was still mostly occupied with dealing with last night and now this…

"How many kids are there? And how old?"

Stefan's face lit up. "Josephine, Joey, must be around ten now and the twins, David and Luke, are three years younger."

Elena walked up to Stefan and placed a hand onto his arm. Sympathetically she stated: "So you're gonna make sure they're gonna be alright?"

"I don't know what…" Stefan broke off, unsure how to go on. Elena could see it in his face, Stefan truly cared about those kids and what would happen to them. But then a new thought suddenly crossed Elena's mind. She frowned: "Are you even allowed to deal with this? I mean, since technically you're only seventeen? Shouldn't it be Damon handling those legal things?"

Stefan let out a mock laugh. "Can you picture Damon as the responsible adult? Can you imagine him doing anything involving either the legal law stuff or the children's welfare? He doesn't care about any of this. He never has."

Stefan had a point there, Elena knew that. She could picture Damon do a lot of things, in fact she'd been trying to get some of the pictures out of her head all morning, but none of those involved what Stefan had been talking about. Quite the contrary.

Elena felt her cheeks blush. She cleared her throat and eventually looked at Stefan again.

"When do you have to leave?"

"Actually, I should be on my way already," Stefan smiled apologetically. "I'm meeting Mr. Peterson this afternoon and I don't know how long it's gonna take me to get to Seattle."

"Oh, alright."

Stefan placed his arms around Elena's body and felt her stiffen. "Elena, I'm really sorry…"

"It's okay, Stefan. I get it," Elena quickly reassured him and leaned her face against his shoulder. "Family is important after all."

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yes," Elena sighed into the fabric of his shirt.

"You know," Stefan leaned away from her and looked down into her face. "I think it's best if you move back home, Elena. There's no reason for you to stay with me not here."

Elena's thoughts had traveled along the same lines. With Stefan gone there was no need for her to stay at the boarding house any longer. Of course the threat of the tomb vampires trying another attack was still looming but… well, Damon would be more than capable of taking care of his own and it's not as if he'd even wanted her help in the first place…

Elena silently agreed with Stefan. It would be best if she'd move back home. At least then she might be able to forget what had happened last night. She would be able to avoid Damon and his constant flirting… she'd be able to avoid temptation.

"Brother, now that hurts," Damon's sarcastic voice suddenly chimed in from the stairs.

Elena let out a stunned gasp and broke out of Stefan's embrace. She turned around and watched Damon saunter into the kitchen in his usual cocky way. Though, Elena noticed when she took a closer look at him, he still looked a little worse for wear around the edges. His eyes were bloodshed and he was paler than usual.

The smirk on his face was the same as always though.

With a mock-hurt look at his brother Damon continued: "With you off to play Uncle and Elena moving out again, who's gonna save me from the big bad vampires trying to kill me, huh?"

"Damon, we don't even know if the whole 'human living here now thing' would have worked!" Elena managed not to blush when she faced Damon, arms crossed protectively in front of her. "And correct me if I'm wrong but… you didn't seem to want my help in the first place, did you?"

Damon stepped closer until he stood right in front of Elena, mirroring her position of defense. "True," he admitted and then sent her a suggestive wink. "But now I do want your… help. I guess something must have happened last night that made me change my mind. Any idea what that could have been?"

Now Elena couldn't stop the blush from coloring her face but she wouldn't give Damon the satisfaction of rising to his bait. "How should I know, Damon? I have no idea what happened to you last night."

"Really, Elena," the elder vampire smirked. "No idea at all? Not even one bit? Nothing unforgettable coming to your mind?"

Elena's eyes budged. She knew Damon was referring to the silly note she'd left him (and why the hell had she been so stupid to do that?). With a quick look at Stefan she decided to play it cool.

"Nope, nothing. I guess whatever happened last night wasn't worth remembering."

Damon didn't seem to be the least thwarted by her statement. His smirk widened and he shook his head at her. "That seems to be quite strange, don't you think, that you should suffer from memory loss when in fact it was me doing all the drinking, huh?"

Before Elena could come up with a witty reply Stefan stepped in between and addressed his brother: "What are you talking about, Damon? What happened?"

Damon merely cocked an eyebrow. "You know, you and me both are wondering the same thing here. I guess it's your girlfriend's turn to shed light on that one."

Stefan looked at Elena then, clearly waiting for her to explain, but she avoided his eyes and changed the subject. "How long do you think you'll be gone, Stefan?"

Stefan's face fell but when neither Elena nor Damon came forth with any sort of explanation about last night he eventually shrugged it off and answered: "I don't know how long it's gonna take. I want to make sure the kids are alright…"

"Right, the kids," Damon walked over to the fridge and pulled a blood bag from it. "I wonder if they still remember us. Tell them their uncle Damon said hi, will ya?" He poured the blood in a cup and took a sip.

"I don't think so, Damon," Stefan replied and pulled Elena into his arms once again. He placed a soft kiss onto her hair and then addressed Damon over her head. "I figure the less they remember you the better off they'll be."

"Tsk, tsk," Damon threw a glare back. "Now that's just rude, Stefan. Anyway, don't you have to be going somewhere? You've got a flight to catch, don't you? The plane won't wait forever. And they're certainly not gonna let you on board looking like this."

Damon pointed at Stefan's sweatpants and bare feet and Stefan let out a sigh and turned to Elena again.

"I should get ready, Elena."

"Okay," she nodded and let go of him. Then a thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Oh, do you want me to give you a ride to the airport?"

"I'd like that," Stefan smiled at her. "But we need to be going in fifteen minutes. Do you think you'll be ready then?"

"What do you mean?" Elena frowned.

"Elena, have you looked in the mirror lately?" Damon threw in with a soft laugh. "No offence, but… I'm pretty sure you're gonna be arrested as soon as you set one foot into the airport clad like this."

Elena threw a quick look down and… blushed beet red.

What the hell?

Why on God's green earth was she dressed in what seemed to be the most ridiculous short sleeping set she'd ever seen? It was a set of dark blue shorts and shirt and it had miniature, and not to mention multi-colored, dice all over it.

And the worst part… Elena knew it didn't belong to her.

Elena closed her eyes in embarrassment when she suddenly remembered pulling it out of a drawer in Damon's room last night. She'd laughed out loud and had taunted Damon mercilessly with owning such a piece of clothing.

And somehow, through actions Elena wouldn't allow herself to think of right now, if ever again, she'd ended up wearing the ridiculous but strangely cute pajamas.

Oh God!

Damon's laughter pulled her out of her thoughts eventually.

"Shut up, Damon!" Elena groused and smacked him on the arm in passing. "Don't forget who actually owns these!"

Stefan, who'd already been halfway out in the halls, stopped in his tracks and threw a questioning look back at them.

"Never mind anything he's saying, he's still drunk," Elena cut off any questions Stefan might have had on the tip of his tongue. "Go get your stuff, I'll hurry up and change into something less offending and ridiculous. I'll be ready in ten minutes."

Stefan nodded at her and sped up the stairs. Elena was about to follow him but on the first landing Damon suddenly appeared out of thin air, blocking her path.

"You know, I've been asking myself why I kept those pajamas for so long. I've been wanting to toss them for years but now…" his eyes roamed over Elena's body. "I'm actually glad I didn't throw them away. You look adorable in my clothes. Just as adorable as without anything on at all."

Elena put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. "And you would know that how exactly?"

"Oh, come on," Damon leered at her. "After last night…"

"Nothing happened last night, Damon!" Elena hissed, careful not to raise her voice too much. She was aware of Stefan being close enough to listen to every word, thanks to that stupid vampire hearing.

"We both know that's not true." Damon leaned impossibly close to her and Elena backed away until her back collided with the wooden wall. Damon of course moved in again. "And your lovely note alone is proof of that. What did you call it again? Your most memorable night ever?"

"I said it was an unforgettable night," Elena corrected immediately. Damon shrugged as if to say 'who cares about semantics' and Elena went to clarify: "And I didn't mean… it was unforgettable, sure, but I certainly didn't mean it in the positive way you'd think."

"Of course it was unforgettable," Damon smirked and placed both his hands onto the wall next to Elena's head. "I'm unforgettable."

Elena felt trapped when Damon leaned even closer, his chest brushing along hers… her heart skipped a beat. He wouldn't dare try to kiss her again, would he?

"Damon," Elena's voice sounded breathless to her own ears. "Stop it."

"Make me," Damon brushed his lips against the shell of her ear and Elena felt a shiver run down her spine. "You can't, can you? Just like last night."

"Damon," Elena didn't know where she found the strength when she felt like her knees were to give out any time now but somehow she managed to push Damon away an inch. "I have no idea where you got your delusions from but… seriously, nothing happened last night, or… well, at least nothing like what you're clearly thinking of. You know that, right?"

"Doesn't matter, Elena," Damon smirked and stepped back to lounge against the banister. "Whatever did or did not happen between us last night, I know that it left an impact."

Elena stared at his face, all smug smile and sparkling blue eyes, she took in his self-assured posture and suddenly she found her own composure again. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, chin struck out defiantly.

"An impact! Oh, yeah," she spat. "Why don't you take a good look at the dent in the bathtub or the stain of your drool on the carpet? Because that's the kind of impact you left last night! And nothing else!"

She brushed past him to mount the next set of stairs but before she'd even made two steps Damon was blocking her path again and took hold of her arm.

"Damon," Elena sighed exasperated. "Let go of me. I'm tired and I'm cranky and I've had enough of your company for at least a week. So please, let me get ready to take Stefan to the airport. And after that I'm out of here. I need to sleep at some point today because thanks to you I didn't get any last night."

Damon's eyes gleamed with mirth. "You didn't get any sleep at all? Why, Elena, let me guess, you just couldn't take your eyes off of me, huh? You lay there beside me, wide awake and ogling me all night, too distracted by my dashing handsomeness, right?"

"No! I didn't get any sleep because I was worried... " Elena broke off mid-sentence to take a calming breath. "And don't even think for one second that I was ogling you. There's nothing to ogle at on you! At all!"

Damon was about to point out the many body parts he knew were worth ogling when something Elena had said struck his mind. His face lost its smirk and he eyed her surprised.

"You were worried about me?"

Elena quickly looked to the ground, embarrassed to have admitted that much. But, damn, it was the truth. She had been worried…

"Aww, how cute!" Damon's voice, smug and mocking, was enough to turn Elena's embarrassment into anger quickly again.

Eyes blazing furiously she broke free from his grip and spat: "I was worried that you'd start vomiting all over me!"

"Vampires don't vomit, Elena," Damon smirked.

"Oh, really?"

"Really," Damon stated.

"Whatever," Elena groused and quickly stepped past Damon. He let her take three steps up the stairs before Damon called after her.

"Oh, Elena?"

She turned around to where he still stood on the landing and threw him a dark glare. "What?"

"If you were simply afraid I'd vomit on you, then why did you stay with me in the first place, hm? Why not spend the night in your boyfriend's bed like everybody else would have done?"

Elena opened her mouth but closed it again, no words coming to her mind. Damon's grin widened. Elena let out a huff, turned around and fled upstairs to finally get dressed.

Damon's self-confident laughter followed her all the way and even later, when she'd left the house with Stefan to see him off, she couldn't get the sound of it out of her head.

On her way back from the airport Elena had gotten so fed up with it that she'd turned up the car's radio to a nearly unbearable volume.

But it didn't help, she couldn't get Damon's laughter to stop ringing in her ears. And his question also kept haunting her for the rest of the day.

'Why did you stay with me?'

Elena had to grant him that. The question had been more than legitimate.

"Why indeed?"

And the worst part was not that she didn't have an answer. She had one. She knew why she'd stayed.

And although Elena also knew that saying it out loud would make it real… she couldn't stop the words from tumbling from her lips.

"Because I wanted to."

It was real after all, there was no way she could deny it any longer. The dice had been cast, and that's what scared her the most.

"I wanted to."

* * *

**TBC**

**_I'm not too satisfied with this chapter but I had to get Stefan out of the way and... well, just tell me how I should do better next time._  
**


	8. One Big Leap

_Sorry if the first part of this bores you but I kind of like all that family legacy stuff and I also felt the need to give a little bit more insight into Stefan's thoughts and motives. So, yeah, I had to include it. But I kept the Stefan part as short as I could. After that it's all about Elena's feelings and you get a sweet little Delena moment as well._

_My apologies for this chapter being rather short (and heavy on the feelings). I hope you still enjoy it._

_

* * *

_

**One Big Leap**

"Pardon me, Sir, but I'm afraid you'll have to turn off your cell now," the blond stewardess smiled politely down to where Stefan was seated on the plane. "We're about to take off."

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry."

Stefan threw one last look at the message he'd been writing before he quickly hit 'sent' and turned off his cell. The stewardess remained by his side until he'd pocketed it and then she continued her way up the small aisle, addressing passengers left and right in the same polite voice.

Stefan let his head fall back against the seat and closed his eyes. He tried to relax and steer his thoughts towards what lay ahead of him (namely Seattle and his meeting with Mr. Peterson) instead of revolving around what he'd left behind at home.

Elena.

Something strange had been going on between her and Damon this morning, something Stefan couldn't afford to think about right now. He needed to focus of the task ahead. Stefan had only a few hours to come up with a plan.

He wanted to make sure Zach's kids were well cared for, now that they'd lost their mother. He owed them that much after everything that had happened.

For the last few months Stefan had felt the guilt for what had happened to Zach weigh down on his conscience. He'd felt as if he, and not Damon, had been the one to snap his relative's neck.

And in a way he had, Stefan assumed. It had been because of him that Damon had returned to Mystic Falls in the first place and so, Stefan knew, he was at least indirectly responsible for Damon killing one of the last few living and breathing members of the Salvatore family.

Now the number had been reduced to three kids and Stefan felt like he owed it to his family to make sure those three kids were well cared for.

One day they would have to take up their legacy. A family legacy Stefan had, for the last 145 years, made sure it'll be passed down the generations. In doing so Stefan had hoped it would someday make up for the fact that he'd been the one to condemn his family in the first place.

He'd been the one who'd started all this. He'd been the one who'd killed his own father. And he'd also been the one to condemn his brother to a fate he never truly wanted.

He was responsible.

But of course Stefan knew deep down that, whatever he did, it would never be enough. Atonement for his sins wasn't gonna be achieved like this. But it was the least he could do to try.

And he would keep on trying. He'd do what he'd done for the last 145 years. He would make sure the Salvatore family line wouldn't die and he'd also make sure that in each generation at least one of the family knew everything about their history.

So now it would fall to one of Zach's children. One of them had to be it. Stefan didn't know yet whether it'd be Joey, Luke or David, but he'd make sure all of them remembered their father's family at all.

He owed his family that much.

* * *

After she'd seen Stefan off at the airport Elena hadn't returned to the boarding house directly but had made a stop at the cemetery to visit her parents' grave. Upon entering she immediately felt bad for not coming more often but with everything going on lately… Elena knew she had broken her routine of visiting at least once a week but she hoped her parents, wherever they were now, knew that she hadn't forgotten about them.

She never would, of that Elena was sure. Never mind that she knew by now Grayson and Miranda Gilbert hadn't been her biological relatives… to Elena they would always remain her parents.

And she would always continue missing them and remembering them. Just like she'd always ask her mother for advice whenever a problem would arise Elena didn't know how to figure out for herself.

Like she was about to do now.

Elena sat down opposite her parents' gravestone and let out a sigh.

"Oh Mom," she whispered, "I really wish you were here right now and could tell me what to do. See, the problem is… to be honest, I don't know for sure what the problem is exactly. I'm feeling so confused right now. And all because of one night with Damon. No, it's not what you think! Nothing really happened, apart from a very brief kiss that certainly lacked the kind of finesse Damon's always boasting about. And according to Caroline… but that's so not the point. He was drunk and I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember any of it. Which I'm glad for, because… really, mom, I don't want to be put in a place where I even so much as resemble Katherine one bit. I don't want to be anything like her! And by the way, I love Stefan, I really do. Nothing's changed there. I feel safe with him, and loved and protected. Even a bit too much sometimes, but I know he means well."

Elena let a small smile graze her lips and she plucked a lonely daisy from the grass next to her. "I tried to write all of this into my diary, like you taught me to, but I can't seem to figure out how to put what I feel for Damon into words. With Stefan it's easy. I love him, simple as that. In a way it's like when I'm with Stefan I feel like you and dad are back with me. Not that I think of him as a parent," Elena hurried to explain. "Of course not. But, I don't know… maybe it's because I know now that the moment you were taken away from me Stefan began to be there. He saved me from the accident, he was there when I needed him. He started looking out for me even if I didn't see him at first. And with him around I just feel a little bit closer to you, if that's making any sense."

'Probably not,' Elena thought and pulled a strand of hair away from her face. 'But I can't explain it any other way.' Loud she went on after a while: "It's like in my head, Stefan equals love and security and safety… he's my home somehow. And while Stefan's my home, Damon seems to be my vacation. He's excitement and fun, fire and passion. He's like an adventure trip through the rainforest, hiking in the Rocky Mountains or skydiving off a steep cliff, yeah, that's it exactly."

Elena's eyes gleamed in the sun. She'd finally found the perfect metaphor for what Damon meant to her. Quickly she pulled out her diary and a pen and began to write it down.

_'Skydiving off a steep cliff. When you hear about people actually doing it your first thought may be: Are they crazy? How can they do that? Out of their own free will? They must be mad to risk their lives like that. But secretly, deep down, you begin to wonder what it would be like. To stand on a cliff with nothing but air around you, pulling at you, wanting to throw you off. The adrenaline is rushing high and you think you can't do it. You're scared. But then, suddenly, without reason or explanation, you feel something inside you give. You feel this tug and… you know you are going to conquer this. You go against your panic and… you leave all of your fears behind. Without a thought or a look back, you take that one big leap. You jump._

_And it's incredible. It's everything you could ever hope for and then some. You laugh and you cry out in joy and you know it's the first time you've ever felt completely and utterly free. You feel more alive than ever before. It's like you realize for the first time that you've been missing something your whole life and now you're suddenly complete._

_It's the most awesome feeling in the world and you never want it to stop._

_But no dive can last forever. Eventually reality kicks in again and gravity will get the best of you. Sooner or later the ground rushes near and you realize that at some point you'll have to put your feet down to land properly. Otherwise you know you're gonna crash and break your bones.'_

Elena looked up from what she'd written and faced her parents' grave once again.

"Mom," she whispered, her voice picked up and carried away by the wind. "I think I want to take that leap but, you see, I'm afraid I'm going to crash because I don't know when to put down my feet."

Elena stared ahead a while, eyes unfocused, as if waiting for an answer. Of course she knew there wouldn't be any and eventually she stood up from the ground, brushed a few leaves off her clothes, and, somehow feeling more lighthearted, walked back to where she'd parked her car.

She drove up to the boarding house and entered, careful not to make too much noise so as not to alert Damon to her return. For once Elena hoped against hope that luck would be on her side and the obnoxious vampire wouldn't be home. She just needed a bit of alone-time for a while.

And Elena also felt the lack of last night's sleep finally beginning to take its toll on her. She figured a quiet afternoon nap would be the best way to prepare herself for the next encounter with Damon.

The living room was empty and Elena noticed in passing that the bottles on the floor had been cleared out. Damon must have used the time she'd been gone to clean up the mess he'd left last night.

Elena made a brief detour into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and a box of chocolate biscuits before she dashed upstairs to her room.

The halls were quiet and there was no sign of Damon. Maybe for once luck was really on her side and Damon had gone out.

Supplies crammed in the crook of her left arm Elena wrestled with the door and finally stepped inside what she supposed should be called both Damon's and her room.

"Hello Elena," Damon greeted her from the bed.

Elena nearly dropped the water bottle. She stared at his relaxed form, stretched out all over the bed with his feet crossed at the ankles and his head resting on bent arms, and opened her mouth.

But before she could say anything Damon suddenly moved. In a flash he jumped up and the next second was standing right in front of her.

"Let me take this," Damon pointed to the bottle and the box in her arm and took them from her. Elena watched him walk over to the large window side where he placed the items onto the small table that still stood there.

Eventually Elena found her voice again. "What are you doing here, Damon?"

The vampire cocked his head to her questioningly. "Why shouldn't I be here? After all, isn't this supposed to be my room?"

"I thought you'd left it to me," Elena fidgeted with her hands. "Did you change your mind?"

"No, but I thought you did," Damon replied and sat down on the window seat. "Don't tell me you're actually gonna go against St. Stefan's better wishes and stay! Cause if that's so then I have to admit that whatever made you do that, I like it. Keep it up and maybe one day you're gonna…"

"Please, Damon," Elena cut him off with an exasperated sigh. "Can we not do this now?" She was suddenly feeling very tired and wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep, preferably twenty four hours straight.

Strangely enough Damon complied and shut up. He simply watched her walk up to the bed and plop down onto her back. Her shoes clattered to the floor and Elena crawled higher up on the bed, eyes already half-closed, until her head rested on the soft pillow.

"I'm really tired, Damon." She turned onto her side, back towards the wall, facing him.

"I can see that," Damon chuckled and stood up. He grabbed the soft woolen blanket on his way over to her and unfolded it over her body.

He pulled it up to her shoulder and at the same time Elena's hand came up as well. Her fingers accidentally grazed along Damon's hand and he felt a bolt of electricity shoot through his entire body.

Elena's eyes snapped open. Apparently she'd felt something, too.

Their eyes locked for a second and Elena wasn't sure what she saw in Damon's crystal blue orbs. But before she'd had time to figure it out the look had vanished quickly again.

Elena blinked and then her eyes began to droop once again.

"Sweet dreams, Elena."

Damon's voice sounded gentle and far away to Elena's ears. As if…

She was asleep before Damon had made three steps away from the bed. The vampire turned around and threw a long look at her relaxed face.

She was really beautiful like this.

Without really knowing why (or even bothering to care) Damon went back to the window and sat down onto the cushioned seat. He leaned his back against the cool glass, propped his feet onto the table, and continued to watch Elena's sleeping form.

Her chest rose and fell in the same steady rhythm he could hear her heart beating to. It was kind of soothing. Damon felt a strange kind of contentment settle in his own chest along with the soft and steady thud his own heart produced.

A whole long time had passed before Damon realized that both their hearts were beating in perfect sync.

And it took him even longer to tear his eyes away from the sleeping girl and finally leave the room.

* * *

_**You know you love someone** _

_**When you can spend the entire night**_

_**Just sitting by the fire**_

_**Watching them sleep**_

_**

* * *

**_

TBC

_**The quote at the end was taken from the TV series "Dawson's Creek", Season Three's Episode "A Weekend In The Country" (one of my favorite Pacey/Joey pre-romance moments).**_

_**Please tell me how you liked this chapter. I'm not so sure about parts, others I simply love. What about you?**_


	9. An Act Of Balance

_Finally, my muse is back! This is what I had in mind when I started writing this story. The last few chapters didn't satisfy me at all but finally I'm on the right track again. This scene has been on my mind from the very beginning but I just couldn't get it right. But now I think I did and that's why you get it now. See it as a thank you gift for all of you who kept coming back (and reviewing) for more._

_You guys really overwhelm me, I've never had so many reviews in my life. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart._

_On a different note: Seeing as many of you have been asking whether or not I'm gonna include Zach's kids in later cha__pters… I'm not sure yet but I would love to. I can see Damon interacting with them in his own way and I'd love to write that. But the downside of it would be that Stefan would have to return along with them and I thought I'd keep him away for a while. So, you may look forward to funny Damon/kids encounters but they won't happen in the next two or three chapters. They're reserved for Delena goodness alone. Now, in this chapter, __**you finally get**__**all the sexy details of what happened last night**__. Have fun._

_

* * *

_

**An Act Of Balance**

Elena, fast asleep and oblivious to the world around her, didn't notice Damon leave the room. As much as she'd tried to block out the images of last night's events all morning, now she couldn't stop her mind from taking her back to re-live the events in one of the most vivid dreams she'd ever had.

******************************FLASHBACK*********************************

Hot steam filled the bathroom and condensed down the blue tiles in small droplets that Elena could feel gathering where she was leaning with her back against them. She stood opposite the old bathtub, as far away from it as she could, with her back pressed against the wall and her eyes downcast. She'd pulled her hair up into a messy bun and so, at the nape of her bare neck, a small river of condensed water was slowly pooling down her skin until it reached the hem of her tank top. Her back was already soaked but she didn't notice.

Elena was too occupied with not staring straight ahead to notice anything really.

But she couldn't help it; every few seconds her eyes would flutter up and she'd throw glimpses at the shadowed outline of the man, vampire, behind the shower curtain who was currently trying to stay upright (not to mention conscious) in the tub.

But Damon really was a mess tonight, she'd never seen him this drunk before. All his super-human abilities (such as strength and agility) seemed to have been drowned in alcohol and had left a fumbling idiot behind that couldn't even manage to coordinate his feet.

So far he'd failed two times already. Two times he'd lost his balance, his feet had slipped on the wet bottom and he'd come dangerously close to smashing his skull against the tiles or tumbling into a heap onto the bottom of the tub.

That's why Elena was currently trapped in the bathroom with him.

After she'd found Damon unconscious on the floor and had realized that he wasn't hurt, just stinking drunk (literally), Elena had somehow managed to pull him by his arms into the bathroom. There he'd finally come by and had opened his bleary eyes.

And unfortunately he'd opened his mouth as well.

Most of his words had been so slurred that they hadn't made any sense to her but some of his ramblings had been clear enough.

And they had made Elena angry. She'd been hard pressed not to simply leave him there on the floor to rot but eventually she'd had a better idea. She'd gathered all her strength and had hauled his ass over the rim of the tub into it. There she'd dowsed him in cold water and then had been ready to leave.

But Damon, seemingly coming by more and more, had surprised her then.

"Help me, please!"

It hadn't been the words alone that had compelled Elena to turn around again. It had been the tone of his voice, soft and sincere, gentle and desperate at the same time.

Elena had felt something inside her give way, clench and open up again, and like strung to a rubber band she'd felt her chest widen and her heart had skipped a beat.

Elena had turned around. The shower had been running (when and how had he managed to turn it on again?) and the water had rained down on Damon's huddled form, making him resemble a lost puppy abandoned at the side of the road in a storm. The look Damon had given her from under wet eyelashes, pleading and genuine, had only completed that image.

Elena hadn't been able to resist feeling sorry for him. He'd been a mess.

A mess suddenly struggling to get to its feet. Somehow Damon had managed to stand up. He'd ripped the buttons of his soaked shirt while trying to pull it off and that's when he'd slipped for the first time.

Elena had automatically rushed to his side and had thrown her arms around him to stop him from falling. She'd even continued to hold him upright while Damon had, somewhat uncoordinatedly but too quick for Elena to stop him, shed the rest of his clothes.

And then there he'd suddenly stood before her, in all his naked glory, and Elena had been too stunned to react. She hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from the sheer beauty his exposed body had presented.

Elena's jaw had dropped. She'd never seen anyone so perfectly sculptured in her entire life. Water had continued to cascade down the smooth skin of Damon's back and Elena's eyes had followed its trail to where it had run in small rivers over the curve of his perfect ass and down well-muscled thighs.

"Care to hand me the shampoo?"

Damon's leered voice had pulled Elena out of her trance at last. Her eyes had snapped upwards and she'd found Damon smirking at her from over his shoulder, left hand stretched out expectantly.

Horrified at her own thoughts Elena had stumbled backwards without a word. But she hadn't made it to the door yet when a loud crash and a curse from Damon had made her turn back again.

Apparently the drunken vampire had lost his balance another time. He'd half stood, half crouched, in the tub, back leaned against the wall, and Elena hadn't had the heart to leave him hanging like that. Once again she'd helped him up, all the while muttering curses under her breath while blushing furiously, and had then decided that she'd have to stay with him.

No matter what an ass Damon was most of the times, he was still in obvious need of her help now.

She couldn't leave him alone like this, could she? Vampire healing aside, he could do serious damage to himself if he'd fall.

And besides, he was too drunk to try anything serious, like messing with her, right now anyway. Right?

This was nothing sexual whatsoever. Elena was just trying to help a friend in need. That's all. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Nope, nothing.

The squishy sound of slipping feet pulled Elena's attention out of her reverie and back to the current situation. Her eyes snapped up in time to see Damon's well-muscled arm shoot out from behind the shower curtain and his hand clutched around an iron pipe to steady himself.

Elena pushed her back from the wall and was by his side instantly. "Are you okay?" she asked for maybe the tenth time tonight.

"No," Damon's slurred voice came back. "But I would be if you'd come in here and help me already."

"Damon, I'm not gonna get into the shower with you!"

The curtain was pushed aside and Damon's upper half appeared inches away from Elena. His dark hair was plastered to his head and droplets of water ran down his smooth chest. The smirk on his face was somewhat lopsided but it was there nevertheless.

"Why not? Afraid you might not be able to control yourself in close promixi… proxmix… you know, nearness of my irres-sistible self?"

"You mean your stinking drunken self, Damon?" Elena glared back, careful not to let her eyes wander down his body. "I think I'm perfectly capable of restraining myself from jumping a completely wasted, not to mention wet, corpse who can't stay on his own feet for two seconds straight."

"You sure of that?" Damon's head swayed forward and his lower lip jutted out in a pout. "I can hear your heartbeat, you know? And I can see your pulse dashing through that lovely vein on your neck."

His hand shot forward and Elena felt a cool wet finger trace a line down her collarbone.

"And I can see," Elena pushed his hand away and took a step back, "that you're sober enough to be an ass again, so… we're done here. I'll go get you some clothes."

Elena bent forward and around Damon to shut off the water, careful not to come in contact with his wet skin anywhere, but Damon followed her movement and breathed down her neck: "Does that mean fun's over already? Or are we simply relocating? You know, take this somewhere more comfortable. Like my bed?"

Elena straightened up in a flash, a snarky reply already on the tip of her tongue, but she hadn't realized how close they were really standing.

The back of Elena's head collided forcefully with Damon's chin and she heard the vampire groan in pain. He reeled back and instinctively grabbed Elena around the middle to stop himself from falling. But the force of his movement was too much for Elena's small weight to counter and before she realized it she was being pulled off the ground and into the tub.

"Damon," Elena cried out in shock. Her hands shot up and grabbed the first thing she could find while her legs instinctively flayed around.

"Ouch! Oh fuck!"

Damon's whole body seemed to snap under her as if suddenly charged by lightning and he threw his head backwards against the edge of the tub.

Crack! Crunch!

"Oooh, ouch!" he groaned with his eyes closed.

Elena stared at his face contorted in pain for two seconds before she finally snapped out of it. She let her forehead fall onto Damon's chest, took a deep breath and then lifted herself up a little. Her eyes fell onto her hands clutched around Damon's biceps, fingernails digging into the skin there nearly deep enough to draw blood.

Elena gasped and let go of his arms, sitting up more straight in the process.

"Gah, oh God," Damon groaned again and all of a sudden Elena realized that it hadn't been her hands on his arms that gave him pain like she'd thought.

Something hard had suddenly begun to poke into her knee and without looking down Elena realized at once what it was. She didn't know how she'd managed to land the way she had but somehow she hadn't fallen completely on top of him. While her upper body had been pressed close to Damon's chest Elena's left leg had wedged itself in between her body and Damon's during their tumble. Her bent knee had come to rest directly on top of Damon's groin and the sudden pressure there had obviously prompted the electric shock to course through his whole body.

Elena felt a deep blush coming on and she tried to dislodge her leg somehow to get it away from Damon's rising erection.

"Ugh, sorry! God, I'm… ugh," Elena stuttered and continued to wriggle her lower half away.

"Stop! Don't move!" Damon's eyes shot open and he grabbed Elena's waist more firmly to keep her still. Elena froze and bit her lip. As awkward as their current position was, she didn't want to cause Damon any more pain than she'd already done.

"Damon…"

"Just," Damon cut her off and let his eyes close again. "Just, a second, Elena. Please, I have to…"

He broke off and took his right hand from her waist. He lifted it to the back of his own head and Elena watched him slowly feel for any damage there.

"Oh God," Elena gasped when she saw his hand come back covered in blood. "Did you crack your skull?"

Damon didn't answer, he simply wiped his hand on the wall to get the blood off before he let it fall limply to his side. His eyes remained closed and Elena could feel true panic starting to creep up on her.

"Damon?"

What if he'd truly hurt himself? Could vampires get a concussion? A fracture of the skull? Could there even be brain damage?

"Damon?" she repeated more urgently now. "Come on, say something please!"

"I need you to…" Damon whispered, eyes still closed.

"What? What should I do? Please, Damon!" Elena could hear the panic in her voice.

"I really need you to… wriggle your leg a bit."

Elena blinked, confused. "What?"

"Just a liiii-ttle bit to the left, that would be a real pleasure." Damon's eyes snapped open and Elena was suddenly confronted with the most devilish grin she'd ever seen him wear.

"Damon!" Elena's voice nearly doubled over in sudden anger when his meaning became clear. "Oh God, you're such an ass!"

She smacked his chest with all the strength she could muster and jumped off of him, not caring what body parts she'd crush in the process.

And really, Damon's sudden hiss when her foot stepped on a rather sensitive part was music to Elena's ears. She managed to scramble out of the bathtub and bolted from the room without another look back.

Tears of embarrassment started to roll down Elena's cheeks when she threw herself onto the bed face first. How could she have been so dumb? Of course Damon would try to take advantage of her worry for him! He was evil! And an ass! How could she ever feel sorry for him?

"Uarrgh! Damn it!" Elena gave the pillow underneath a hefty punch. It didn't help to lessen her fury. And shame. And feeling humiliated. At all.

"Oh, come on, Elena," Damon's smug voice from behind had her reeling upright again soon. "No hard feelings, okay? Ugh, no pun intended here at all."

Elena grabbed the pillow and without looking threw it at him. "Get out!"

Damon caught it in front of his chest. "Oh, don't be such a buzz kill." He threw the pillow back to her and slowly approached the bed. Elena noticed only briefly that he'd slung a towel around his waist and was holding another one to the back of his head. Her eyes were glued to his smug face.

"I mean it, Damon, get out!"

Damon's face turned from smug to pouting adorably in the matter of seconds. "But I need you to take a look at my head, Elena. I can't see the wound properly and..." he paused and sat down on the bedside. "Please?"

Elena took a deep breath and her eyes traveled from his face to the towel. Only then did she realize that he must have seriously hurt himself earlier. The towel was soaked in blood. Maybe he had a cracked skull after all.

'Serves him right,' Elena thought but scooted closer to take a look nevertheless.

"Turn around," she sighed and Damon complied without a word. Elena pulled the towel away and inspected the wound. Right above the base of his skull she found his dark hair plastered to a bloody gash.

"Don't you usually heal right away?" she couldn't stop her voice from sounding concerned.

"Usually, yeah," Damon replied with a small shrug of shoulders. "But I guess since I'm currently having more Scotch than blood in my system… alcohol makes blood thinner, you know?"

"I know," Elena nodded and carefully wiped more blood away. She inspected the wound once again and noticed the skill suddenly melt together as if drawn by magic. "There, it's closing up," she breathed out and realized it had come out more relieved than angry.

Damon turned around again. His face was inches away from hers and Elena could feel his breath hit her cheeks when he whispered: "Thank you."

She couldn't help but stare into his still slightly droopy eyes. Damon stared back and then his hand suddenly came up to take the towel from her. Their fingers grazed along each other.

"You're welcome," Elena whispered and lowered her eyes to Damon's mouth. She watched him pull his lower lip into his mouth and involuntarily leaned closer. Damon's gaze dropped down as well and Elena knew if he'd move just an inch forward their lips would meet. She gulped, suddenly nervous.

What was happening here?

And then Damon suddenly closed the distance between them and their lips met in the softest of touches. Elena felt a jolt shoot through her and she reeled back.

Damon's head followed and he captured her mouth in a soft kiss once again. It was nothing more than a brush of lips, fleeting and somewhat sloppy, and yet… Elena closed her eyes and a soft moan escaped her lips when she parted them, willingly letting Damon inside.

And then the world around her faded into black.

* * *

A quiet whimper escaped Elena in her sleep, her mouth pursed and unconsciously searching for Damon's.

Her lips pressed against a silky pillow instead and Elena slowly woke up and very reluctantly opened her eyes. Where was Damon? Where had he gone? Hadn't they just been kissing…

And then reality crashed in and Elena realized that it had been nothing but a dream. A memory of last night's events, vivid and almost palpable, but still nothing but a memory.

"Oh God," she groaned and turned around in bed. Her eyes sought out the alarm clock next to the bed and the next second she sat upright in bed.

6:42 the clock read.

She'd been asleep for almost the entire afternoon!

Wow!

Elena slumped back down and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Then she threw back the covers and got up. Stretching her arms wide over her head she couldn't help but notice how relaxed and refreshed she felt.

Elena was certain that it had nothing to do with the dream she'd just had.

Nope, nothing at all!

* * *

**TBC**

**_There you have it. Part of what happened that night finally coming to the surface for you. I hope you enjoyed it as muxh as I do. Let me know please._  
**


	10. Chapter Ten

_This chapter is short and really, it's just a filler to get the next bit of Delena fun on the way. It's so unimportant I couldn't even think of a chapter title. Sorry that I keep you waiting for the good stuff. It will come next week, I promise._

_

* * *

_

**Just A Filler**

6:42 o'clock, that's when she'd woken up from her impromptu nap this afternoon. Elena wondered why she didn't feel more hungry by now. Sure, there was a light gnawing in her stomach, but nothing like the gut-wrenching hunger she knew she should be having after nearly an entire day without food.

She sat at the edge of the bed and ran her hands through her hair, trying to get the worst tangles out. Involuntarily her eyes traveled over to the small table by the window. The box of biscuits she'd taken upstairs with her earlier stared back invitingly and Elena went to make short work of ripping the box open.

She settled down on the cushioned window seat, shoved one of the delicious chocolate cookies into her mouth, and let her gaze wander out of the enormous window.

This side of the boarding house went out to the woods and Elena lazily watched the early evening sun flitter through the crowns of high oaks and other trees she didn't know the name of. Botany had never been her strongest subject in school but now she suddenly wished she'd paid more attention to it when Mrs. Riley had tried to teach them local flora in class.

Elena noticed some movement in one of the closest trees and strained her eyes to focus on it. A squirrel, barely visible but for its bushy tail, was scurrying up one tree, then quickly jumping to the next one and scrambling down its trunk before it vanished in the undergrowth near the house.

A playful smile curved Elena's lips watching the animal scamper around, appearing here and there between the bushes, while it seemed unconcerned with possible predators lurking around, waiting to end its life.

'Maybe it knows,' Elena suddenly thought and her smile widened, 'that it has nothing to fear now that Stefan's not around.'

As soon as the thought had crossed her mind, Elena's brows furrowed. Was that really how she thought about Stefan these days? A predator? A thread to animals?

No, first and foremost he was still her boyfriend. The man she loved. Guilt suddenly crept up on Elena when she realized that since seeing Stefan off to the airport this morning she hadn't checked her cell once. He'd probably been trying to call her multiple times already.

Elena jumped up from the window seat and crossed the room to where she'd left her bag on one of the chairs. She dug around for her cell and flashed it open.

Three missed calls and two text messages. All from Stefan.

Elena cringed and opened the first message.

**_Arrived well, heading over to the hotel now. Call me, love, Stefan_**

The second text, sent two hours later, was a lot longer than the first and Elena could read the concern between the lines.

**_Hey, is everything alright? Are you okay? Is Damon giving you trouble for moving out again so soon? Ignore him. Don't let him get to you, no matter what he says he can't be trusted. Elena, please, promise me to stay away from him. He's only playing with your goodwill and he'll let you down eventually, I know from experience. I'm seeing the lawyer now, call you when the meeting's over. Love, Stefan._**

Elena went to type a quick reply. She was trying to find the right words to explain things to and reassure Stefan that everything was alright when a familiar dark voice suddenly interrupted: "How is my dear brother?"

Elena looked up, startled, and noticed Damon lean casually in the open doorframe. "Has he begun to extinct Seattle's animal population already? Should we alarm WWF, make them put the squirrels onto the list for endangered species?"

Against her will Elena had to smile. "He's fine. A bit worried perhaps, but…"

"And that's different to his usual brooding self how?" Damon raised an eyebrow and stepped into the room. "Of course he'd be worried if you told him you'd be staying here."

Damon plopped down next to Elena and pulled her feet to rest on his lap. "And with good reason, I might add. You and me, all alone, finally able to have all the fun in the world, with no one to stop us. No Buzz-Kill-Bob to rain on our parade."

"Stefan's not a Buzz-Kill," Elena quickly injected. "He's…"

"Boring," Damon smirked back. Then, in the blink of an eye, he leaned in and placed a finger onto Elena's lips. "And not here, so let's not kill the fun ourselves by talking about him, okay? We have far better things to do."

Elena stared at Damon's face, so close to hers that she was able to count his eyelashes, and suppressed a shudder. Her lips tingled from his touch and she had to force herself to pull back a little. With as much willpower as she could muster Elena opened her mouth to tell him to back off but what came out was:

"What better things did you have in mind?"

Huh?

Damon's eyes lit up and his hand slid up her calf. "How about a repeat performance of last night?"

Elena felt her face grow hot, not to mention the Goosebumps on her leg where he was touching her, but she ignored it and shot back instead: "Thanks but no thanks, Damon. My arms are still aching from dragging you across the floor and I'm pretty sure I've got bruises all over my…"

Elena stopped short when she saw the sudden look on Damon's face. Confusion, definitely, and… was that concern? Damon's gaze flew over her body and came to rest on one dark purple spot right above her right knee. She'd bumped into the edge of the bathtub there.

Damon's eyes snapped up to her, brows furrowed, and then they fell down to her knee again. His hand traveled up her calf and traced the outline of the bruise. He looked at her again, blue eyes intense and sincere, and Elena read the unspoken 'What happened?' 'Did I do that?' from his face.

She startled even more when he suddenly bent down and placed the softest of butterfly kisses onto her knee.

'I'm sorry' rang through Elena's head as if he'd actually spoken the words.

"Okay, so," Elena cleared her throat and lifted her legs from Damon's lap. "We agree then. No repeat performance of last night." She stood up and put some distance between them.

"Well, not that part, obviously. Whatever that was."

His last words had been uttered so softly that Elena nearly missed them. She turned to him but Damon had already stood up from the window seat as well. He stood with his back to her, seemingly staring out of the window.

Elena felt the sudden urge to walk over, put her arms around him and reassure him that he hadn't hurt her. But she squashed it down.

"So…" she muttered instead.

"So," Damon threw a look over his shoulder. "Let's make a deal."

"A deal? Again?" Elena remembered the last deal they'd made with mixed feelings. In exchange for his room she'd promised him one hour of her time, spent how he wanted. Elena had her suspicions about how much of the fulfillment Damon actually remembered but…

"Yep, a slight variant of our last one, to make up for last night," Damon came over to her with a smirk. "I promise," he lifted his hands like swearing in court and Elena had to smile immediately. Damon stopped right in front of her.

"With all the sincerity I own…" he paused and his smirk grew.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Which, we all know, is next to nothing."

"True, still…" Damon continued, "I promise to take you out on a fancy date, with an expensive dinner, a movie and everything you want…"

"What if I don't want…"

Damon looked at her as if he wanted to call her insane for even suggesting such a thing. No woman could ever not want to have a date with him.

"As I was saying," he leaned close to her face, "we go out, have fun, do whatever you wanna do, and you can even drag me to watch one of those cheesy-lame-romance-chit-flicks you girls seem to like so much, I won't complain at all…"

Elena rolled her eyes again, though she had to admit that this was kind of fun. Still, she crossed her arms in front of her and mocked: "What exactly are you offering here, Damon? I mean, so far I've only heard one side. What do** I** get out of this if I **were** to put up with you for another night?"

"You get me, completely at your disposal," Damon grinned back. "For a small fee of course. If I were you I'd take me up on that offer because you're not gonna hear it ever again. Strictly a one-time-deal."

"So, you want me to put up with your company for another night and expect me to pay for it still?" Elena shook her head. "Sorry, but that doesn't sound too alluring to me. Seems like you get all you want while I…"

"All I want, Elena?" Damon lifted an eyebrow suggestively. "Not likely."

"Well, you seem to be craving my company lately, for whatever dubious reasons," Elena stated.

"No dubious reasons at all, Elena," Damon let his palm travel up her bare arm up to her shoulder. "Just the obvious."

"Damon," Elena pulled away.

"What? I like your company, that's all." Damon shrugged. "I told you before. And I know you can be fun when you're not angsting over my stupid little brother. You said it yourself when we were in Atlanta. You used to be more fun. So, why don't you give me a chance to bring out the old, carefree, fun Elena that's lurking inside of you, huh?"

"That's all this is about? Bring out the fun Elena?" Elena wasn't sure if there weren't some other, ulterior motives, behind Damon's nice behavior. Oh, who was she trying to fool? Of course he had ulterior motives. This was Damon Salvatore!

"That's all, yes!" Damon answered and looked at her with bright shining eyes and pouting lips. Elena felt her resolve starting to crumble. When he looked at her like this…

"Okay," she sighed at last. "Let's go out and have fun."

Damon's triumphant smile brightened the room.

"But," Elena injected, "I have one condition."

"What?"

"You," Elena poked a finger into Damon's chest, "are not going to get wasted again. I want to have fun and I'm not gonna have this evening end with me having to drag your drunken ass home. Understood?"

A small smile curled around Damon's mouth and he nodded: "Understood. So here's the deal. We will go out, have fun and not mention my brother at all. For the entire evening it's us alone. And I'm not gonna get drunk. Promise."

He stuck out his hand and after a slight pause Elena took it to seal the deal.

"Now, how about we meet downstairs in a few?"

"Okay," Elena answered and motioned for him to leave. She stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Damon stared at the door for a second before he made his way out into the halls. A small smile played around his lips when he sauntered down the hallway.

"I won't get drunk, alright," he chuckled. "Elena never said anything about her though, did she?" Thinking back to the time they'd had fun doing shots at Bree's Damon added to himself: "We'll see if her tolerance is still way up there. And I'm gonna find out exactly how much it's gonna take for Elena to lower her defenses and start falling for my charms."

Little did Damon know yet that that particular feat had already been accomplished, no alcohol needed whatsoever.

* * *

**TBC**

**_I know, pointless and unimportant. But now the fun night out can begin. I hope I'll have the next chapter out by next Wednesday. _  
**


	11. Fun Night Out Part One

_I know I promised you a new chapter by Wednesday, packed full of Damon and Elena having a fun night out, and here it is finally. One day late, I know. But I hope what I've come up with will make it up to you and I really hope that I managed to live up to your (and my own) expectations._

_This is only the first part of the fun night out and I apologize for the cliffhanger in advance. It was simply too much to put into one chapter and I wanted to post this rather sooner than later, so…_

_Enjoy yourself._

_

* * *

_

**Fun Night Out Part One**

"Okay, no," Elena shook her head determinedly after glancing at herself in the mirror. "This one won't do either. Arrrgh, it's impossible!"

She eyed the black shirt once more before she tore it over her head again, tossing it onto the bed beside her. The pile of discarded clothes had steadily grown higher there and soon enough Elena would have nothing more to try.

She had no idea what to wear tonight.

She'd tried everything. Casual, meaning jeans and a collection of soft falling shirts, and also formal, several skirts, even a dress or two.

But looking at her reflection in the small mirror that showed her figure only down to her mid-thighs, Elena had found some flaw or another within each and every outfit.

"It's the mirror, "Elena sighed and gave said item a dark look. "You're all wrong. You make me look stupid no matter what I wear." She flopped down onto the bed next to the pile of clothes. Then a frown suddenly grazed Elena's features.

"And why is that damn mirror so small anyway? It's Damon's for God's sake! You'd think that someone so utterly vain and full of himself would own at least a full-length-mirror. If not one twice as big as that! How's he supposed to watch his enormous ego in this tiny little thing?"

Elena threw a look at the clock and got a little shock. She'd been trying to find the right thing to wear for almost an hour now! Damon would long since be waiting for her downstairs.

Without further ado she stood up from the bed and snatched one of the many shirts. She would wear this one, no further discussion needed. It would look just as good on her as any other shirt she owned. And, it's not as if she wanted to dress up for Damon, right?

This wasn't a date, it was just a fun night out between… friends.

So, no need to be nervous. Nope, none at all.

With a flush on her face Elena quickly finished clothing (she'd chosen black trousers – no jeans – and her stylish black leather jacket over the dark red halter top) before she dashed into the bathroom to freshen up her make-up, brush her teeth and comb her hair one last time. Then she made her way out of the room.

Elena noticed Damon waiting at the foot of the stairs, and although he was dressed in simple black jeans, a black shirt and his leather jacket, Elena's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him.

He was gorgeous, there was no use in denying it. He was, and, sadly enough, he knew it.

Damon turned his head to watch Elena come down the stairs. His smirk froze for a second before it widened.

"Wow, would you look at that," he drawled and chivalrously held out his arm. "We two make a very handsome pair, Elena."

"We're not a pair, Damon." Despite her scolding words Elena linked her arm through his and Damon led her out of the front door.

"Sure we are," Damon shot back. "Last time I checked a trio minus one equals a pair. And since my boring brother is conspicuous by his absence, which makes me very happy by the way, Mystic Falls' famous trio has just become the town's hottest pair."

"Whatever," Elena rolled her eyes and slipped past Damon into the passenger seat of his car. Before she knew it Damon had taken his seat behind the steering wheel and smirked at her.

"I thought we'd agreed on not mentioning Stefan tonight?" Elena asked and as soon as the words had left her mouth she wanted to take them back. Why had she said that?

"Right," Damon smirked back and started the car. "Thanks for reminding me, Elena. So, how about this? From now on, to the end of this night, for every time one of us mentions him the other one gets a free pass in asking whatever he or she wants. And the other one has to answer, no bailing, no lying, okay?"

Elena was silent for a few seconds. Should she agree? Could she even go an entire evening without mentioning Stefan at all? And what about Damon? He might not realize it but Elena knew that Damon tended to talk about Stefan quite a lot (even if it was only to mock his brother). Perhaps this deal wouldn't be so bad? Elena might get a few shots at asking Damon things she'd always wanted to know! And he'd have no way of backing out.

"Alright, we have a deal," Elena agreed at last. Damon raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised at her willingness to play his game, but then he simply nodded and set the car in reverse to turn out of the driveway.

"Good," he smiled and then turned his attention on the road. "So, Elena. It's your night of fun, so you get to decide. Where are we going now? Are you hungry?"

"Ugh, yeah," Elena replied. "I thought we could check out this new place just out of town. Jenna went there with Mr. Salzman last week and she said the food is great."

"Oh, you mean 'Casa del Soleil'?"

"Yep," Elena nodded. "They serve like everything and I'm not sure yet what kind of food I'm in the mood for tonight."

"Okay," Damon shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever you want, it's your night."

Elena eyed him silently from the side. She wasn't sure why but something about Damon's rather unusual compliance was making her terribly nervous. She'd expected him to be cocky and brazen about this date of theirs (stop it, it's not a date) but so far he'd been the perfect gentleman. Apart from a few smirked comments he was… he was…

Whatever, Elena wasn't able to name Damon's behavior properly. She'd have to be cautious though, surely he had some agenda of his own.

But Elena was sure that she'd get to the bottom of this soon. She'd just ask him about it the first time Stefan's name would slip past his lips. Okay, maybe not his name, Damon almost never used it, but something like 'my stupid brother' would surely make it out of his mouth. There was no way Damon would manage to go an entire evening without taunting her for dating Stefan. Sooner or later it would happen. Damon loved to tease her with it far too much!

* * *

Damon led Elena through highly polished wooden doors into the restaurant and a politely smiling host immediately approached the two.

"Good evening, sir. Your reservation, please?"

'Oh, no,' Elena groaned inwardly, suddenly sure what was to come next. Of course they didn't have a reservation but she knew that Damon would take care of that in the matter of seconds. And, sure enough, she watched the vampire stare straight into the host's eyes, muttering something too low for her to catch, and the host's eyes glazed over with compulsion.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Salvatore," the man smiled only seconds later and motioned for them to follow him. "We have your table ready. This way, if you please."

They were shown to a nice table in a corner. It was decked for two with pristine white napkins and tablecloth, the china and several wine and water glasses gleaming in the soft candlelight.

A waiter stood ready to pull out Elena's chair and take her jacket but Damon shooed him off and took his place instead. Elena eyed Damon warily for a second but when he simply grinned at her she shrugged and let Damon take the leather jacket from her shoulders.

His small intake of breath had Elena glance at him from over her shoulder. Damon's grin had frozen and his eyes were focused on her back.

Her very bare back.

Elena smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. Ha, she'd known she'd get him with this outfit. The leather jacket had hidden it until now but the dark red top she'd spontaneously chosen had only seemed chaste and unspectacular on first sight. Now it became obvious that the high-closed front part ended in two lacy straps over her shoulders, leaving the smooth suntanned skin of her back bare. The soft fabric of the shirt closed only at the very small of her back.

Elena wasn't sure what had prompted her to wear this shirt tonight (she'd had it for a long time but had never worn it until now) but seeing the stunned and clearly impressed look on Damon's face now was enough to let her know she'd made the right choice.

Not that she wanted to impress Damon, or needed his approval, mind you.

It was just great to see him speechless for once, that's all.

And speechless he really seemed to be. It took full three seconds and a cough from Elena to pull Damon out of his stunned stare. His eyes snapped up to meet hers at last and his lips curled up.

"Nice view," was all he said when he finally pulled the chair out for Elena to sit down.

Elena smiled and buried her face in the menu.

* * *

Halfway through dinner Damon did something he'd very rarely done before. He backed down from a challenge and insisted, with something that could easily be counted as begging, they'd stop their ridiculous game of 'not mentioning Stefan at all'.

Damon hated to admit it but… he sucked at his own game. He'd never realized before how much he really talked about his brother. It seemed that every topic they could think of somehow held something worth a few jibes at Stefan's expense. And as much as Damon loved to mock his brother, it wasn't really fun when he wasn't there to react to it.

Plus, Damon had realized that he enjoyed Elena's company far too much to waste it by playing a stupid game.

And it seemed as if Elena was starting to enjoy herself as well because she hadn't put up much of a fight when he'd suggested they'd forget about their stupid deal for a while.

By the time dessert had arrived they'd found themselves in a lively conversation that had nothing to do with Stefan.

"So," Damon asked around a mouthful of mousse au chocolate. "You've never been to Europe at all?"

"Nope," Elena grumbled. "I was supposed to go to Germany once, our swim team went into training camp there for the summer, you know? But then Jeremy caught the measles and of course he passed them on to me and so Jennifer Connelly got to go in my place while I had to spend my summer in bed with this terrible itching all over me."

"Swim team, huh?" Damon smirked. "You among lots of girls in flimsy swim wear? I'd have loved to see that."

Elena merely rolled her eyes. "I was nine, Damon, so stop salivating."

Damon had finished his dessert and quick as a lightning stole some off Elena's plate. He popped a chocolate covered strawberry into his mouth and grinned at Elena's glare. "Why did you quit?"

Elena stared at a small spot of chocolate sauce in the corner of Damon's mouth. Her hand itched to reach out and wipe it off. "Huh?"

"The swim team," Damon clarified and Elena snapped out of it. "Why did you quit?"

"Oh, ugh," she looked down at her plate of sweet fruits and tried to get her mouth to work properly again. "I don't know. I used to love it but then something changed. The girls that used to be my friends suddenly were all bitchy and competitive and… I don't know. I was just there to have fun, not to win competitions but suddenly that was all it was about for them I guess."

Damon simply nodded in understanding.

"I still love swimming though," Elena added after a while. "Just for the fun of it."

"I nearly drowned the first time I tried to swim," Damon mumbled and then looked up in shock. He had no idea why he'd felt the need to tell her that. He wasn't usually one to think about his human life at all, let alone tell others about it, but Elena had let him in on so many private things tonight… it was only reasonable to give her something in return, wasn't it?

And when exactly had he begun to listen to the voice of reason?

Damon stared at Elena's face and… well; there he had his answer.

"Tell me?" Elena's voice was soft.

Damon tried to play it light and shrugged. "Stefan and I used to…" he broke off when he noticed a triumphant smile play across Elena's lips. "Oh, cut it out. We agreed on not playing that stupid game any more, remember?"

"Hey, I didn't say anything!" Elena smirked.

"No, but you thought it!" Damon stated and crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, do you want me to go on or not?"

Elena suppressed the smirk and nodded. "Sorry, yeah. Tell me what happened."

"Okay, so," Damon continued after a while. "Stefan and I used to play by the lake a lot. One day we saw something in the water, struggling and yelping. It was a dog, one of our own litter, no more than a few weeks old. No idea how that one had managed to get away from the rest, they were kept in the stables. Anyway, this one had gotten out. Stefan and I tried to reach it from the shore but it was too far in. So, I waded into the lake and suddenly the ground gave away. The water tore me under and I couldn't breathe. I struggled and heard Stefan's panicked cries from ashore and the dog was yelping and, well, somehow I managed to grab it and pull it with me to the shore again. That's how I learned to swim."

Damon's eyes had a sudden far-away look. "I remember Stefan getting into the lake as well, although he could barely walk. He was only three then. But he tried with his small chubby hands to pull me onto the grass and then I blacked out. When I came by again we were on the shore and stayed there for a long while, happy and proud. I was so proud of us then, that is…" his eyes darkened and Elena saw anger flicker through them.

"That is, until we went home to tell father. He stared at us, both drenched to the bone and dripping all over the place. Without a word father tore the puppy from my arms and drowned it in the water butt outside. The look he gave me then clearly said: 'Next time you do something so stupid and risk your brother's life like that, it's gonna be you drowning in the butt.'"

Damon grabbed his wine glass and took a deep gulp. Elena stared at him, shocked and sad at the same time. She reached out and took Damon's hand in hers on the table.

"I'm sure that's not what he meant, Damon. He had to have been worried that you'd risk your own life like that."

Damon scoffed and shook his head. "No, Elena. He wasn't, believe me. He never cared what I did, as long as I'd keep Stefan out of trouble. And whatever we'd get ourselves into, it was my fault, every time. Just like that. I was responsible."

Elena squeezed his hand. "How old were you?"

"Nine."

A heavy silence settled over the table and Elena, desperate to lighten the mood, grasped onto the first thing she could think of. "You hadn't learned how to swim until you were nine?"

Damon rolled his eyes but the cloud over his head had passed and he was back to his usual smirking self. "It's not like we had swim teams and all that back then, Elena. It was learning by doing with most things. And, well… I did."

"Yes, you did," Elena smiled back and silently wondered what other things in life Damon had to have learned the hard way.

* * *

They left the restaurant shortly after that, but not before Damon hadn't compelled the waiter to bring them a bottle of their best champagne and two flute glasses, which earned the vampire a glare from Elena's brown eyes.

Damon had originally planned on compelling his way around paying for the dinner as well but Elena's incessant and rather forceful complains had led to him actually paying the check for once. He'd rather avoid the public scene and besides, it's not as if he couldn't spare the money. He had plenty of it after all.

Elena's thoughts seemed to have traveled along the same lines because, once they'd entered the warm night air, she asked with obvious curiosity: "Damon, where does all that money come from? I mean, it's not like you have a job or anything and yet, well… you wear expensive designer clothes only and…"

Damon quirked an eyebrow. "Elena, you know that I don't actually pay for my extensive wardrobe, right?"

Elena stopped walking along the pavement. "So you just compel everybody to give you what you want?"

"That's the general idea, yeah." Damon kept on walking.

"But that's," Elena quickly suited up again and pulled his arm to make him turn around. "Damon, that's…"

"Wrong?" Damon smirked. "Bad, evil? Not the Joe Regular nice-guy behavior? Newsflash, Elena, I'm not a Joe Regular. I'm a vampire."

"I know that," Elena crossed her arms over her chest and stared him in the eyes. "Don't think for one second that I could ever forget what you are, Damon."

"Good," Damon leaned closer until his face was inches away from hers. "You shouldn't."

Elena tried to speak around the sudden dryness in her throat. "But that doesn't mean that you can't act nice and normal from time to time. I know you can and I've seen you do it, Damon."

"Really?"

Damon had intended for it to sound menacing but Elena wasn't the slightest bit intimidated. At least not by his low voice or dark glare. The closeness of Damon's intense eyes on the other hand, it affected Elena far more than she'd expected. She could feel her heart flutter in her chest and she was sure Damon could hear it, too.

Elena took a quick breath and then smiled up to him. "Yeah, really. No matter how hard you try to hide it, I know you care about things. And about people."

"People?" Damon mocked. He was sure she meant his stupid brother by that and therefore her next words took him by surprise.

"Me," Elena breathed out. "I know you care about me. You knew that after everything that's happened lately I really needed a nice normal fun night out and you did everything to give me that, without making a fuzz."

"What makes you think I don't have my own agenda that I follow tonight?" Damon let his hand glide slowly up Elena's arm. She didn't pull away.

"Oh, I'm sure you do have your own agenda." Elena had no doubt about that. "But nevertheless you went out of your usual cocky way to ensure that I'd have a good time. And I did. That dinner was great and I really enjoyed talking to you like we're friends. Nice, normal friends. So, you can be a nice person, Damon."

He didn't say anything but locked his eyes to hers, unconsciously leaning closer to her smiling lips.

"That is," Elena took a small step back and her eyes took on a teasing glint. "You were a nice normal guy until you cheated your way into getting that bottle of champagne."

Damon let go of Elena's shoulder and opened his mouth to reply something but Elena already went on: "And I don't even know why you had to steal it in the first place. We agreed on no alcohol for tonight and yet you already had wine with the dinner. You're not playing by the rules."

Damon knew that she was teasing him and he rolled his eyes and started pulling things off his fingers. "Okay, first of all, I didn't steal the champagne at all. I gave the waiter a tip so generous that it easily would have covered this. Second, that's not exactly what our deal consisted of. We said no getting wasted tonight and I assure you that it takes far more than a glass of wine or two plus a bit of champagne to get me there. And third," he waved the bottle into Elena's face, "we need this for what we're gonna do next."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Elena glared from his smirking face to the bottle and back. "What are we gonna do next? I thought I got to decide…"

"Just a little change of plans," Damon grinned and started walking again. "I got a surprise for you."

"Damon," Elena's voice suddenly had a suspicious tone. "Were are we going?"

Damon simply sent her a look. "If I'd tell you, it would kind of ruin the surprise, wouldn't it? Come on, you're gonna love it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Elena gave back but followed him down the street nevertheless.

"Elena," Damon pouted, "don't you trust me?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

When Damon didn't reply but merely kept dragging her along by the hand (when exactly had he taken her hand? And why the hell did she let him do it?) Elena took a closer look on their surroundings. She'd never been here before and eyed the dark and empty road with suspicion. It didn't look like it would be leading to anywhere really.

There were no streetlights and on the left big old trees stood high and proud. To their right a long and high stone wall followed them.

They passed a solid iron gate in the wall and Elena caught a glimpse at a large mansion behind it. 'Must be really rich people to own a place like that,' Elena thought.

After maybe fifteen minutes of silent walking Damon suddenly stopped. "Okay," he grinned down at her. "I need you to wait right here and I'll be back before you know it."

And with that he was gone.

For a split second Elena stared at the hand that Damon had just released and then she looked around for him.

"Damon," she shouted annoyed. "Damon, damn it! Where are you?"

There was no response. Elena huffed and started walking along the stone wall. That would be just typical of him, to lead her to God knows where only to vanish!

Why had she agreed on this again? Why had she not protested the second he'd started to drag her along? Should she wait for him? Or should she try to get back to the car they'd left parked at the restaurant?

While she was still trying to decide there was a sudden whoosh and then Damon appeared in front of Elena, smug and unruffled as ever.

Elena smacked his chest. "Damn it, Damon! Where've you been?"

Damon grabbed her hand when she tried to hit him again. He squeezed it and with an innocent expression only he could pull off Damon shrugged: "I had to make some preparations before…"

"Before? Damon, what…"

The words caught in Elena's throat when suddenly, without warning, Damon pulled her body flush to his.

"Hold on," he grinned and fastened his arms around her back. Elena struggled against his firm chest but Damon was far too strong for her.

"Let go of me!"

"Relax, Elena," he tried to reason with her but when Elena did the exact opposite and struggled even more he let out a frustrated sigh and then…

Damon held her in a firm grip and jumped. Elena felt her feet lift off the ground, the air rushed by and she let out a shocked cry. Panic made her close her eyes and involuntarily she grabbed Damon's shoulders.

Then, all of a sudden, it was over and Elena's feet touched solid ground again. She tried to catch enough breath to yell at Damon and opened her eyes.

"What the hell did you do?"

Damon let go of her and took a step back. He leaned his back against the solid stone wall and shrugged: "I just thought I'd spare you the trouble of climbing this sturdy, twelve feet tall wall up one side and down the other, so… I carried you over."

"You carried…" Elena stared wide-eyed at his nonchalant face and then her gaze traveled to the wall at his back. It was the same high wall as before, only… before there'd been the road under her feet. Now she was standing on a highly trimmed lawn. She realized at once, they were standing on the other side of the large wall.

And Damon had jumped over it, carrying her with him!

"What? I… why, what are we…?" Elena didn't know what to say.

"Elena," Damon stopped her sputtering and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Relax, okay? Take a deep breath and then…"

Elena glowered at him but did what he said. She tried to get her racing heart in check and took a few steadying gulps of air.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked.

Elena's glare intensified and she was about to let loose another salvo of complains but then, then Damon suddenly turned the both of them around on the spot and what she saw across the lawn knocked all the breath from her lungs again.

"Ta da!" Damon smirked and took hold of her hand again. He pulled her forward and Elena could only stumble along in stunned silence.

"What do you say, Elena?"

"I, how… you, you did this?"

Damon grinned at her and took off his leather jacket. He threw it carelessly onto the lawn and stepped out of his shoes at the same time. Elena watched him open-mouthed, too stunned to react. She saw his fingers swiftly open the buttons on his shirt and then the black garment was tossed to the ground on top of his jacket.

Elena was still motionless like a statue.

Damon chuckled inwardly, pleased with Elena's reaction to his surprise. Well, she wasn't running away or screaming bloody murder, so… that was good, wasn't it?

With his eyes closely fixed on Elena's slack face Damon swiftly opened his jeans and stepped out of them.

Elena gulped at the sight of Damon, naked but for a pair of tight black boxer briefs, and finally snapped out of her stunned haze.

"Oh my God, Damon!"

"Come on, Elena!" Damon laughed and purposefully strode up to where she was standing. He leaned close to her face and whispered seductively: "Last one in is a stinking loser!"

And with another laugh he sped away and jumped with a perfectly executed head-dive into the waiting pool.

* * *

**TBC**

_I know that it's beyond evil to leave it at a place like this but I promise, I try to update as soon as possible. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after that. And then it's all Delena fun in the pool._


	12. Of Pants And Dogs

_Hi, I'm back again. And, wow, would you look at that? This story already got over 320 reviews. I can't tell you enough times how very happy and honored I am. You guys are amazing, thank you so much. In exchange for the wonderful response I give you a super-long chapter now. It's really the longest I've written in a while and it's packed-full of nothing but Damon and Elena having fun. There's even a hint of smut but… sorry, this story is still rated T and so you'll have to imagine some parts on your own._

_I still hope you'll love it, I know that I do. Have fun._

_

* * *

_

**Of Pants And Dogs **

Elena stood there on the lawn, frozen, gaping like a fish at the sight before her. It was… breathtaking.

She didn't think she'd ever seen a place so entirely beautiful in all her life. Nor so happily situated into the natural beauty of the park-like garden Damon had brought her into.

Everything in her sight was bathed in a soft orange glow that emanated from millions of tiny tinker bell lights from all around her. They seemed to simply float in midair, for the strings they were actually attached to were invisible to the human eye. Torches sticking out of the accurately mowed lawn (which was as well-trimmed as any golf course) complemented the fairytale lights and spread the same warm glow over the eye-catching large swimming pool right in front of her.

With the size the quarter of a baseball field it was one of the biggest pools Elena had ever seen. It was neither square nor round, not egg-shaped nor any other form Elena had ever heard of in Trigonometry. Its shape wasn't continuous at all, it rather changed at all odds and ends with parts nearly round and others suddenly stretching wide before curving into the opposite direction.

Perfectly bedded into the ground with rough stone walls all around it looked almost like no pool at all but like a natural lake instead. Elena would have easily believed it if weren't for the fluorescent sky blue tiles covering its ground. Strong beacons were set into the tiles and illuminated the water from within.

Elena let her gaze wander to the very back of the pool and let out a stunned gasp.

It seemed as if the walls, carved out of rough gray rocks, were piling up and creeping closer to the water's surface until they formed some kind of tunnel or cave.

The whole thing looked like something out of a fairytale or a movie. Elena remembered she'd seen a pool like this in a movie once.

It was truly magnificent.

She took a slow, almost apprehensive, step forward. She would never have dared to disturb the quiet beauty that engulfed the entire place, but it seemed that Damon had no such qualms. She could see his pale form under water, diving close to the pool's ground, gliding towards her steadily.

Then his dark head suddenly broke through the surface right in front of her.

Damon pulled himself up and over the edge of the pool with ease, water dripping from his hair. Millions of tiny droplets ran down his smooth chest and reflected the torches' orange glow.

It looked like he sparkled all over and despite her still dazed state Elena was suddenly reminded of Edward Cullen sparkling in the sun. She had to suppress a giggle immediately.

Elena vowed to tease Damon mercilessly with this later, but right now she needed to concentrate. Damon had obviously said something she hadn't caught in her trance.

"Huh?"

"Elena," Damon repeated and cocked his head to the side. "Come on, what are you waiting for? Take a swim."

"But…" Elena tore her eyes from his sparkling chest and focused on his face instead. She cleared her throat and started again. "No, Damon, we can't…"

"Sure we can!"

"What about…" her eyes flickered to the mansion-like house that loomed in the dark to their far right, the house this amazing pool obviously belonged to. "Damon, this is trespassing!"

"Nobody's gonna notice," Damon assured her at once, almost as if he'd known exactly what objections would come. "I checked the house earlier. The owners, an elderly couple by the way that I don't want to imagine in here at all, are fast asleep and besides, they're deaf anyway."

"How do you know that?" Elena's brows furrowed.

"I know that," Damon came closer and placed a hand onto Elena's arm, "because there are two pairs of listening devices on the nightstand. Nothing short of an atomic bomb going off right beside their beds will make them wake up, believe me."

Elena felt her worry lessen but she had still some reservations about the whole thing. It was like they were breaking and entering, right? To Damon this might be nothing to worry about, Elena was sure about that, but…"

"Elena," Damon sighed, patience wearing thin. "Come on, what's the harm? We're not breaking into the Louvre to steal the Mona Lisa here! Live a little! When was the last time you did something a little adventurous, huh?"

"Oh, "Elena scoffed at once, "you mean opening a tomb full of vampires and nearly being snacked on isn't adventurous enough?"

Damon rolled his eyes. Of course she would bring that up now, wouldn't she? "I meant something normal adventurous, something every teenage girl does once in a while. Like stealing a lipstick, getting drunk at a party or… taking a forbidden midnight swim?"

He looked at her with such intensity that Elena couldn't help but smile a little. It had been far too long that she'd done any of these normal foolish things, so…

Damon saw the smile and knew he'd won her over. Elena's resolve crumbled before his very eyes. He led her by the arm closer to the pool's edge until they faced the quiet shimmering water.

"Come on, Elena. You said you loved to swim and this is your fun night out."

Elena sighed eventually. "Okay,"

"Great," Damon grinned, "now take off your clothes!"

Elena threw Damon a quick glare but shrugged out of her leather jacket at the same time. But then she stopped. Damon, who'd jumped back into the water already, noticed her faltering and, with his elbows resting on the pool's edge, looked up to her again.

"What now?"

Elena was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, looking very nervous, and Damon suddenly knew what this was about. He smirked. "Oh, don't be silly! There's nothing wrong with swimming in your underwear! I've seen your lacy lingerie before, it's no big difference to a bikini."

Elena's eyes blazed. "Okay, first of all: You have no business rummaging through my underwear…"

Damon simply rolled his eyes again.

"And second, I… ugh, that is," Elena's voice went quiet and if it hadn't been for his vampire hearing Damon would have missed her next words. "I'm not wearing any."

"You're not wearing underwear?" Damon couldn't ban the glee from his voice.

"Shhht," Elena hissed and looked around in panic as if she expected the garden suddenly come to life with thousands of nosy spectators. Oddly enough Damon was instantly reminded of Ernie and that coat-and-hat-wearing, letter-selling Slemil character from Sesame Street. Not that he'd ever admit to having watched the kid's show!

But yes, Elena looked around in panic just like Ernie and Damon was hard-pressed not to fall into a conspiring stage whisper when he repeated: "You're not wearing underwear?"

"I…" Elena looked to the ground in shame. Then she suddenly twisted her back towards the grinning Damon to show him her bare backside. "There's no room for a bra with a shirt like this!"

"I see," Damon smirked. "Well, then… swim in your panties only, or did you leave them at home as well?"

"Damon, I'm not gonna parade around here in nothing but my panties!" Elena shot back. "I'm not!"

"You're not supposed to parade around, Elena!" He pushed himself off the edge and did a few backstrokes before he swam over again. "Just get in here and nobody's gonna see you!"

Elena eyed the pool longingly. She'd really love to take a swim, the water looked so invitingly clean and fresh. Damon being there was the only thing marring this fairytale picture. She could clearly imagine his smug smile and the flirty comments he'd let lose if she were to give in to the pool's temptation. "You'll see me, that's more than enough," she ground out at last.

"So?" Damon shrugged. "You spent an entire night with me naked by your side, so I guess it's only fair that I get my share of naked you now, don't you think?"

"That was completely different," Elena sputtered at once. "You were drunk then and…"

"Ahh," Damon held up a finger and then jumped out of the pool. Before Elena knew what was happening Damon stood in front of her, champagne flute in hand. "I knew I'd forgotten something! Here, maybe this will help."

Elena eyed the glass warily before her eyes met Damon's again. "No, it won't."

"Don't knock it till you've tried it, Elena!"

Elena sighed and then grabbed the flute from his hand. She downed the alcohol in one go, coughed and sputtered a bit, and then handed the glass back to him. "See, not helping. I'm still not getting naked with you!"

Damon smirked: "I could take off my briefs as well if it'll make you feel any better!"

"No!" Elena gasped. She was embarrassed enough as it was, naked Damon would only add to that. Damon had filled her glass again and Elena took another sip, more cautious this time. Then, suddenly determined not to let her fun be ruined by such a small obstacle as naked embarrassment, she shrugged and, closing the distance between them, took the champagne bottle from Damon's hand.

She set it down and then her hands went to the fastening of her black pants. She toed off her shoes and slowly slid the pants down her legs.

Damon's eyes followed her every move as she slowly revealed her slender suntanned legs. He remained silent, a sly smile on his lips.

Still clad in her shirt and black panties Elena stepped closer to Damon, locked her eyes with his and, with the sweetest smile, pushed him backwards.

Damon knew he could have stood his ground, her shove wasn't that hard, but for Elena's sake he let his body fall backwards right into the pool.

And, just like he'd guessed, Elena used the split second until he surfaced again to get rid of her top and jump into the water. She came up a few feet away, wet hair all spread out, and looked around for him.

"One look or dirty comment from you and I'm out of here, Damon," she glared and swam past him in proficient strides. "I just wanna swim."

"You won't hear a word from me, I promise!" Damon made a move as if to lock his mouth with a key and then followed Elena through the pool.

* * *

She'd languidly swum maybe four or five lanes, astonishingly enough without Damon bothering her at all, before Elena decided that she'd pause for a while. She drifted towards the edge of the pool and looked around for Damon.

Where was he? She couldn't spot his dark head anywhere in the water.

"Damon?" Elena called out, careful not to raise her voice too much. "Damon!" she repeated more urgently when there was no response. He wouldn't just leave her here, would he?

Suddenly two strong hands shot out of nowhere and grabbed her legs. Elena struggled against them but she was pulled underwater and, arms flaying around in panic, latched onto the first solid thing she could grip.

Damon.

They surfaced at the same time, Elena sputtering and coughing and clinging to his shoulders, and Damon grinning like a cat that had just gotten the canary.

Elena glared at him. "Let go of me!"

Damon merely raised both his hands and it was only then that Elena noticed. She was the one clinging to his body, not the other way round. She released her hold at once but Damon's hands shot out and fastened around her waist to stop her from getting away.

"Seriously, Damon," Elena growled.

"Relax, I just wanna show you something," he smirked and released her body. Elena, careful not to rise her naked upper body above the surface, took a step back.

"What?"

"Come on," Damon nodded in the direction of where the pool's tunnel was. "You've gotta see this."

Elena watched him swim away a few strokes before she sighed and followed him to the backside of the pool. She noticed the ground fall off a bit and started swimming instead of wading. The rough stone walls on each side came closing in, slowly forming a roof, and she reached the entrance to what looked like a narrow tunnel or cave.

Damon had vanished inside already and Elena swum in after him, eyes on the strangely lit fluorescing walls. The ceiling was just out of her arm's reach but then, Elena had just passed a turn to the left, it suddenly opened up again and she was inside a grotto.

"Wow," Elena gasped, amazed by the new surroundings. "Beautiful."

"I know that I am, but thanks though."

Elena's eyes flew to where Damon was waiting for her, not in the water but on some kind of naturally formed bench.

He lay there, sprawled out on his side with his head propped up by one arm. One of his legs was bent at the knee and propped up on the other and Elena's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the tight fabric of his boxer briefs, stretched taunt over his groin and not leaving anything to imagination.

She gulped and felt heat pool low in her stomach. He looked like some statue carved out of marble, all pale skin and rippling muscles.

But then Elena's gaze flew to his smug face and she scowled. "I didn't mean you, Damon. This is… amazing."

"You sure you didn't mean my irresistibly beautiful body?" Damon smirked back and lifted an eyebrow. "Because, I haven't shown you the best part yet. So if you'd just come up here…"

"I've seen your best… parts, Damon," Elena sputtered and felt a blush coming on when she remembered their brief tumble in the bath tub the other night. She'd gotten pretty close and personal with his best parts then, hadn't she? "I've had more than enough of them in fact, so… no thanks."

Damon's sudden chuckle pulled Elena out of her thoughts. "I meant the best part of this grotto, Elena!" He pointed to something next to him and Elena, once again blushing furiously, followed with her eyes. But a ledge in the rocks blocked whatever it was from her view.

"You can't see it from down there, so…" Damon continued and sat upright in a swift move. "And I know what you're gonna say next so I'll just get it out of the way and promise: I won't ogle your naked body. Scout's honor."

Elena rolled her eyes at that.

With a shrug Damon continued: "No offence but what's up here is far more fascinating than your naked boobs anyway, so, no worries."

Elena couldn't stop the words from coming out: "Hey, there's nothing wrong with my boobs!"

"I didn't say there's anything wrong with them," Damon smirked. "I'd love to take a close look sooner rather than later, believe me. Just say the word and I oblige. But this," he pointed next to him again, "this… is better."

"Damon Salvatore rejecting a perfectly fine pair of boobs in favor of… whatever?" Elena mocked and came closer. "I've gotta see this."

Damon's smirk grew and he extended a hand to her. Elena tried to gulp down the nervousness of showing her naked self to him and gripped his hand. Then she let herself be pulled out of the water and onto the stone bench.

Deliberately or not, but Damon's strength caused Elena to nearly land in his lap. She yelped and grabbed his shoulder for support but Damon let his body fall backwards and they both tumbled in one wet heap onto the rocks.

"Damon!" Elena cried and tried to detach herself from the vampire. But somehow her legs got trapped between his and Damon held onto her naked waist and turned both of them around so that he could pin her to the bench.

And that's when Elena realized it.

The rocks in her back didn't hurt or poke in the slightest. They were soft like velvet and also extending heat.

"What…?" Elena gasped and frowned up into Damon's smirking face right above hers. "Damon, what is this?"

"Special heating system," he answered and sat up on top of her. "Feels like your own personal heaven, doesn't it?"

Elena could only nod in response, eyes falling close in delight. The soft warmth spread all over her backside and she wiggled a little to mold her back closer to it. Damon still sitting on top of her didn't register on Elena's brain at all, she was far too entranced by what was happening to her back.

"And the best part," Damon whispered suddenly close to her ear. "You feel this, Elena?"

She opened her eyes in confusion, not sure what he meant, but then…

Then, suddenly, the rocks in her back suddenly began to emanate pulsating waves of electricity and Elena felt like she was getting a warm massage all over her back and ass and the back of her legs.

"Ooohhh," she gasped out and knew it sounded more like a moan than anything else. But she couldn't help it, the massage felt just too good.

"Hmmh, oh God," she moaned again. "This feels…"

"You like?" Damon purred into her ear. His voice sounded rough and low in his throat, and Elena opened her eyes to stare at him. Suddenly she became aware of the fact that he was sitting on top of her, legs on either side of hers, and his hands on her shoulders were making soft circling movements in sync with the massaging pulse she felt slide over her back.

"Damon," Elena breathed out and locked her gaze to his. She shouldn't be doing this, right? She shouldn't let him sit on top of her, touch her like that, press her hips down to the ground with his superior weight.

This wasn't appropriate, it was far too intimate.

But, oh! Elena blushed when the massaging in her back suddenly began to increase in speed and intensity. It felt like shots of lightning were shot through her body and the pulsing changed to a familiar rhythm. Heat pooled at the small of her back as well as in her stomach and Elena felt like she needed to move or else she would explode.

She closed her eyes in embarrassment when her hips suddenly bucked on their own. Elena couldn't have stopped them if she'd wanted to.

Her hips bucked again and she groaned out. An answering groan from above let her open her eyes again. Damon stared down at her, eyes dark with lust, face inches away from hers.

And Elena could feel his hard length when he pushed down on her.

"Ugh, Damon," she moaned and her eyes flew to his lips and back up.

"Elena," Damon growled low in his throat. "Tell me to stop and I will."

Elena's gaze once again traveled to his lips. She knew she should do it, she should tell him to get off her. She was with Stefan and she had no business doing things like this with his brother! None at all!

Elena bit her lip when another wave of electricity nearly sent her over the edge.

She was so close and this was so wrong!

But it felt so right!

Elena knew that if she didn't push Damon away now, if she didn't do anything, this would be it. Her one giant leap, the skydiving moment she'd written down in her diary.

This would be it.

There would be no going back after she'd taken that leap. She had no drunken excuse, no hope in him not remembering it afterwards…

Damon's low voice whispered once again: "Tell me to stop or I…"

"No," Elena exhaled.

And that was all the invitation Damon needed. With another low groan he closed the distance between them and covered her mouth with his.

Stars flew off in Elena's head and body and she grabbed Damon's head in both hands and let instinct and lust take over.

* * *

Elena was just starting to come down from post-coital bliss when she felt Damon stiffen beside her. And no, not in that way.

His entire body seemed to suddenly be on alert and he sat up with a start. His head cocked to the side and a sudden far-away look appeared in his eyes. Damon looked as if he was listening to something only he could hear.

"Damon? What…" Elena sat up beside him. His brow furrowed and he threw her a glance that seemed almost regretful.

"What is it?" Elena repeated, worried now. And then she heard it, too.

From outside their cave-like shelter, still far away but increasingly growing closer, she could hear furious barking, mixed with growls and the steady drum of heavy paws on the lawn.

Damon took Elena's hand in his and pulled her back into the pool. They waded towards the tunnel's entrance, the angry noise constantly growing in their ears. It seemed to be echoing off the cave's walls, the sound multiplied tenfold, and Elena flinched and released Damon's hand to clap both hands over her ears.

"Damon, what is…" she shouted confused.

And then she saw it.

The biggest dog she'd ever seen suddenly sprang out of the darkness into the circle of orange lights, followed closely by a slightly smaller but no less loud one. The two animals appeared right where Damon and Elena had left the bottle of champagne and glasses, and they ran up and down the pool's edge. They seemed to be a Great Danes, or perhaps mastiffs, Elena wasn't sure.

Not that she cared one way or another; all she cared about was the furious ruckus the dogs were making, barking like mad at them and growling and sniffing their way between the pool's edge and their discarded pile of clothes.

"Oh God," Elena cried out. They had to be watch dogs, and so far they were doing a damn good job of watching and alerting the entire world of the trespassers they'd found in the pool.

"Damon, " Elena's eyes snapped to the vampire at her side. "We have to get out of here! They're gonna wake up the whole house! Please! Make them stop!"

Damon's head turned away from the dogs still running along the edge and he stared at Elena.

"Damon," Elena repeated, on the verge of panic now. The howling and barking was driving her crazy with fear. They sounded so angry! As if they were high-trained and more than willing to rip anyone's throat out any second.

"Damon, do something! Make them shut up!"

Damon's eyes traveled back and forth between Elena's frightened face and the dogs and he raised an eyebrow. Then, with a move so quick that Elena only saw a blur, Damon jumped out of the water and into the dogs' paths.

He landed right in between the two of them on the lawn, and both animals were stunned silent for the split of a second before the barking increased, more furious than before. Damon, vampiric senses on high alert, ascertained quickly that the one to his left, the bigger one, was making more noise than the other. It was obviously the leader and Damon turned towards it, all dark eyes and fangs, and focused his attention solely on it.

The barks turned to angry growls and the big creature suddenly stood still, every muscle in its body strained. Damon prepared himself for the attack that was to come any second now while on the periphery his brain registered Elena's sharp intake of breath, followed by pleas to be careful and to make it shut up already. The other dog was still running up and down the pool's edge but Damon's focus was on the bigger thread for now.

He let out a predatory growl as well and then he flashed forward and leaped at the dog. The dog jumped at the same time and both predators met in midair.

Damon's hands found the massive neck, closed around the fur-covered bones immediately, and with a quick jerking movement he broke the dog's spine just like that.

The poor creature hadn't even time to let out so much as a startled yelp before it fell to the ground, dead.

Elena, still in the pool, cried out in shock and the second, smaller, dog leaped away, barking like mad. It ran down the lawn, vanished in the darkness and came out again on the other side of the pool. But it didn't come closer to Damon, obviously wary for now.

Damon turned towards Elena, black veins and fangs still to the front.

"Oh my God," Elena gasped out in shock and struggled to get out of the pool. "You… you killed it!"

Damon extended a hand to pull her up, senses still on alert for the other dog. When Elena stood on her feet he simply shrugged. "One down, one to go."

He turned to approach the animal still running along the opposite side of the pool but a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Damon, no!" Elena looked furious and desperate at the same time. "You can't… you, you just killed a dog! Why did you…?"

"You said to make it shut up! I did."

"Yeah, but…" Elena's eyes flew to the dead animal on the lawn before she stared at Damon again. "I didn't mean… you shouldn't have…"

"Elena," Damon placed a hand onto her naked shoulder. "What would you have me do here, huh?" He noticed Elena was trembling slightly. It had gotten cold and they were both naked. They needed to get dressed. He didn't feel the cold so much but Elena… she needed dry clothes, and by the state of her shaking body, she needed them ASAP.

"I don't know," Elena's voice shook as well. She took a step back and glared up to him. "Compel it or, I don't know. Whatever!"

"Compel a dog?" Damon repeated incredulously and snorted. "You can't compel a dog, Elena!"

"How would you know?" Elena crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes blazed. "Have you ever tried? You didn't even try it, Damon! You just killed it!"

Damon cocked his head to the side. "Are you mad at me?"

Elena said nothing but simply sent him another glare. Damon couldn't believe it! She was mad at him for killing a stupid dog?

Elena stalked over to her clothes and snatched her top from the ground. She pulled it over her wet body with shaking hands and reached for her trousers next. Damon appeared out of nowhere and snatched the garment from her hands.

"You've got to be kidding me, Elena. You're mad at me for…"

"You didn't have to kill it, Damon!" Elena shouted enraged and tried to get her trousers back. Damon held them just out of reach and shook his head.

"That dog was about to attack, Elena," he pointed out.

"So?" she spat and managed to get a hold on her trousers. Shrugging them onto her wet legs she continued: "It was just doing its job! It was protecting the property from trespassers and thieves. And you had no right…!"

"No right?" Damon's eyebrows rose. "I saved us!"

"We shouldn't have come here," Elena had finished dressing and stood there, arms once again crossed over her now leather jacket-clad chest. She noticed all of a sudden that Damon hadn't made a move to put his clothes back on. He just stood there, stark naked with water dripping down his beautiful body, and Elena was instantly reminded how good that body had felt on top of her, inside her, no twenty minutes before. The pleasure he'd wrung from her body with his skilled moves… just remembering it had shots of electricity surge through her. She'd never felt like that before.

Damon had made her body sing in ecstasy with the barest of touches. The way his lips and hands had caressed her, worshipped her, playing her like a musical instrument…

It had been the same hands that had broken the poor dog's neck in one cruel move…

Elena shivered again, and not from cold. She'd known it before, of course, but the last few minutes had suddenly opened her eyes again to the fact that, no matter how nice and human Damon acted from time to time… at the end of the day he would still remain a vampire. A monster.

A predator that would kill without remorse.

'Are you insane to get involved with someone like that?' Elena could her the question in her head as if she'd spoken out loud. She closed her eyes in despair and let out a low sigh.

Why did her life have to be so complicated? What had she done to deserve this?

"Hey," a soft touch to her cheek suddenly startled Elena and she opened her eyes to find Damon's face inches away from hers. His clear blue eyes shone with a mixture of concern and annoyance and his mouth lacked the usual smirk.

"It's impossible to compel a dog, Elena. Believe me. But if it bothers you so much then I promise I won't kill the other stupid one, okay?"

Damon leaned forward and captured Elena's lips in a soft kiss. And as much as she tried to resist, she could feel her anger drain away as if Damon was sucking it out through her mouth. Her hands came up to close around his neck and her body melted against his.

But suddenly Damon broke away from her and growled out in pain.

"Arrgh, ouch! Let go, you stupid…"

Elena stepped back and stared at him in shock. Damon was jumping up and down on the spot, all the while struggling to shake something off his left leg, and when Elena's gaze went down she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The dog, the one that had been running up and down the other side of the pool after Damon had killed its companion, was hanging off Damon's leg, fangs buried deep inside the bare flesh.

It had obviously decided that the vampire was distracted enough by the kiss to get its revenge.

And it had been right, obviously. Damon cried out, not so much in pain but in rage, and bent down to tear the animal away from his leg.

The dog dislodged his fangs and let out a growl. Damon's hands closed around its furry throat and he squeezed.

"Damon, no!" Elena's cry had Damon look up to her. "Please, Damon! Let it go!"

"What?" Damon shouted back. "It bit me!"

Seeing Elena's pleading look he shook his head in disbelieve but released the dog. He threw it away like a rag-doll and it landed in the pool with a yelp.

Damon turned to Elena. "It fucking bit me, Elena!" he repeated and pointed down his leg. Elena's eyes followed his move. The tearing flesh wound the canine's sharp teeth had left was already closing up again.

"You killed its friend, Damon!" Elena shrugged. "You deserved that and you know it!"

"I…" Damon's head flew around when he suddenly heard the dog bark again. It had crawled out of the pool and had leaped to where Damon's clothes still lay discarded on the ground. "Get away from my clothes," Damon growled. "Don't you dare…"

The dog lifted its leg.

"No!" Damon rushed over but even his super-human speed wasn't enough to prevent the dog from sprinkling a few drops of pee onto Damon's precious jeans before it leaped off into the night. "No!" Damon cried again and chased the dog along the lawn.

Elena fell onto the ground in a heap and nearly choked on her laughter. Watching Damon chase after the dog, stark naked with his bits bouncing up and down with every step, was clearly the most hilarious thing she'd ever seen.

Tears of laughter ran down her cheeks when she shouted out between two gasps: "Damon! Oh my… Damon, let it go!"

Suddenly Damon was back again, picking up his soiled jeans and holding them as far away from him as possible. He threw Elena a look that spoke volumes and she broke into giggles again.

"Oh my God, Damon!" she choked out when he'd reached her.

"Not funny!" he groaned and plopped down on the lawn beside her. "These are John Varvados, Elena! Now they're…"

"Now they're the dog's," Elena cut in. "I think it managed to claim them good and proper."

"Ha ha," Damon replied dryly and threw the jeans away.

Elena looked at him sitting there, all sullen like a pouting child, and she poked him in the side. "Oh, come on Damon. Watching you run around stark naked was one of the best parts of tonight!"

"Really?" Damon raised an eyebrow and then pounced on her. In a flash her had her pinned to the ground, his naked form covering her from head to toe.

"And here I thought I gave you the best part back in that grotto," he smirked down at her and let his hands run down her thighs. "Guess I have to try again, huh?"

"Damon," Elena moaned and closed her eyes. She could feel his hardening length against her core and writhed beneath him, hot shivers running all over her body immediately. Damon dipped his head and started nibbling along her throat with blunt teeth. Then he looked up again.

"You're wearing way too much clothes, Elena."

His voice brought Elena back to reality at once. And, as much as she enjoyed Damon's body on top of hers, and as much as she'd like to continue (or repeat) their earlier activities, Elena knew they couldn't stay here like this.

Anybody could see them any moment! She was suddenly sure their earlier encounter with the dogs had to have alerted the owners of the house and she was afraid they'd come outside and discover them any second now. Not to mention what would happen if anyone discovered the dead dog on the lawn.

"Damon," Elena tried to get his attention and shoved at his chest. "Damon, stop!"

"Why?" Damon purred low in his throat.

"Damon, we can't… not here. We need to get out of here," she reasoned with him and pushed him off. Damon sat up and pouted at her, but then his face suddenly lit up and he smirked: "Does that mean I get to ravish you at home?"

Elena said nothing but the look she gave him when she stood up and extended her hand to him spoke volumes. Damon grinned.

"I can't wait to see you all spread out in my bed again, Elena."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and let's hope this time you'll stay conscious enough…"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Damon was inches away from her face. "I promise to stay conscious long enough for you to lose your consciousness several times and then some. You wouldn't be the first woman to lose it from pleasure. I've been known to have that effect on women."

Damon started walking away but Elena stopped him.

"Ugh, Damon? Aren't you forgetting something?"

He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Damon," Elena sighed. "We need to clean that up." She pointed at the champagne bottle and glasses. "And what about your clothes? You're not gonna walk back to the car like this, are you?"

Damon sighed and then used his vampire speed to discard the champagne bottle and glasses somewhere, probably in the bushes. Then he picked up his shirt and jacket and slung them both over his shoulder. Shoes in the other hand he walked over to her again.

"Better?"

"Ugh," Elena meekly pointed to his still naked groin. "What about the rest?"

"Elena," Damon sighed, "you don't really expect me to wear the jeans that stupid dog peed on, do you? And in case you've forgotten, it's **your **fault that I don't have any underwear. **You** ripped my briefs apart earlier, remember? So, what am I supposed to wear?"

Elena blushed. Of course, he was right. She remembered, back in the grotto, her frantic tearing at his pants and the ripping noise when they suddenly gave way. But she'd been too… cough… distracted with what had been under those pants then to think about the consequences.

Now it seemed Damon would have to face them butt naked. Why wasn't he more concerned about that?

"Ugh, right," Elena eventually mumbled. "Sorry about that."

Damon approached her slowly and smirked: "I wasn't complaining, Elena. I had far better things to do then, as I have now. So, come on, let's get out of here so that we can continue our fun night somewhere more comfortable."

Elena smiled at him and followed to the large property wall.

Before she knew it they were on the other side again and started walking towards Damon's car. When they'd finally reached it – thank god with meeting nobody on their way – Damon opened the door for her and Elena slid into the passenger seat. Damon sat behind the steering wheel in a heartbeat.

"Oh, and just so you know it," Damon smirked at her then. "I totally plan on retaliating the same way soon."

"Huh?" Elena frowned, not sure what he was talking about.

"Your panties, Elena," Damon smirked and started the car. "You can say goodbye to them now because I assure you, once I have you in my bed, you're not gonna see them ever again. Or, well… wear them."

Elena couldn't quite ban the anticipation from her voice. "Turnabout is fair play, huh?"

"I think what you mean is foreplay," Damon smirked back.

And with that he gunned the engine and let the car speed towards the boarding house.

Fun night wasn't over after all. It was just beginning.

* * *

**TBC**

**_Ta da… see, I can be nice once in a while. No cliffhanger this time. And lots of fun and smut for you. You want more? May take a few days more this time but it will come. Let me know how you like this in the meantime._**


End file.
